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Atwater fire and police report lower crime counts, three lives credited to new CPR device
Summary
Fire and police chiefs told the council that annual and quarterly statistics show decreases in several crime categories, the Lucas CPR device saved three lives year-to-date, and departments continue staffing and equipment upgrades as part of public-safety planning.
Fire and police chiefs delivered quarterly and annual updates to the Atwater City Council highlighting operations, staffing and performance metrics.
Fire staff reported that station-level and citywide incident totals for 2025 were: Station 41 — 2,621 incidents; Station 42 — 1,687 incidents; total city calls in 2025 — 4,308. The department said the Lucas mechanical CPR device was used 15 times in 2026 and credited three confirmed returns of spontaneous circulation linked to that device. The fire office also described community-risk-reduction activity — apartment and business inspections, school and daycare checks, and a smoke-alarm canvassing program that installed alarms in dozens of homes.
Police Chief McEachin presented January–March 2026 figures and 2025 annual crime statistics: 8,872 total incidents for the three-month period (5,407 calls for service), 513 traffic stops, 935 case reports, 215 arrests and 101 collisions. On annual comparisons, several categories declined; the chief reported an overall Group A offense drop from 2,056 in 2024 to 1,872 in 2025 (about 8.95% decline) and highlighted the reinstated street-crimes unit and other investigative resources.
Council members asked for finer-grained response-time data to inform potential future station siting and agreed to receive additional operational metrics at a later meeting. Chief McEachin said the department is close to full staffing for authorized positions and is planning equipment upgrades, including replacement radios and possible expansion of license-plate-reader cameras as budgets allow.
The reports provide the council with data to shape budget and capital decisions for public safety; staff said additional response-time breakdowns and staffing analyses will be prepared for future meetings.
