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Rocklin hears 2025 fire and police annual reports; crime rates fall while calls climb modestly
Summary
Fire Chief Reggie Williams reported a 1.58% increase in responses (about 100 more calls) and SAFER grant‑funded hires; Police Chief Russell Banks and analyst Sean Baird reported Rocklin's 2025 crime rate fell to 9.8 per 1,000 residents with total reported crimes at 718. Council praised both departments.
The City Council received the 2025 annual reports from Rocklin Fire Department and Rocklin Police Department, heard questions from the public and council, and praised both departments for service and outcomes.
Fire Chief Reggie Williams said the fire department responded to 6,403 incidents in 2025, a 1.58% increase from the prior year — roughly 100 additional responses — and attributed part of the volume to EMS and lift‑assist activity. "We ran 6,403 incidents," Williams said in his summary of the year. The department added a Type‑5 wildland engine, upgraded radios and Starlink devices for battalion chiefs, and obtained a SAFER grant that will bring nine new firefighters on board, increasing full‑time equivalents from about 44.5 to 53.5. Williams also summarized a $15.5 million operating budget with fire operations accounting for roughly 87.62% of the total; when asked by a resident what that percentage represented, Williams said it "is the firefighters' salaries and some of their personal equipment — it's all looped in there together." Councilmembers thanked the chief and staff for emergency response and community programs.
On public safety trends, Police Chief Russell Banks and crime analyst Sean Baird presented a multi‑year analysis. Baird highlighted that Rocklin finished 2025 with a single‑digit crime rate (9.8 crimes per 1,000 residents) and 718 reported crimes, down from 801 the prior year. Property crime and larceny categories fell (burglary down 15%, larceny down 8%), while violent crime dropped about 27% overall. Baird noted that vehicle burglaries remain a large share of larceny, and the department answered roughly 49,914 total law enforcement calls (officer‑initiated and community generated). "For the first time, Rocklin experienced a single digit crime rate and finished the year at 9.8 crimes per 1,000 residents," Baird said. Chiefs and councilmembers credited investments in technology, school partnerships and community outreach for the improvements.
Why it matters: The reports provide an annual snapshot of public‑safety workload, budget priorities and results; the firefighter staffing increase and new apparatus affect response capacity, and the police crime decline signals positive public‑safety trends though officers continue to focus on vehicle burglaries and outreach to unhoused residents.
What's next: Department staff will provide the council a follow‑up on proposed new station locations and updated response‑time maps in future reports.
