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Police chief outlines staffing shortfalls, training initiatives and workload pressures
Summary
Police Chief Corey presented the department's annual report detailing attrition, a training pipeline with officers in academy and field training, elevated calls for service, detective workload concerns, mental‑health call volumes and plans for cyber‑fraud outreach, active‑attack preparedness and wellness initiatives.
Police Chief Corey delivered the department's 2025 annual report, focusing on staffing, response times, case workloads and new initiatives to improve public safety and officer wellness.
Corey said the department experienced notable attrition last year (retirements, resignations and terminations) but also made hires; as of the January snapshot the department had three current openings and a large training pipeline with officers in field training and the academy. He cautioned the training pipeline depresses operational efficiency: while the department is only down one funded line, many officers are not yet available for patrol because they remain in training.
On response times, the chief cited a priority call median of about "8 minutes and 52 seconds" in the study snapshot and reviewed a staffing study from the University of North Texas that modeled three options: add three patrol officers to maintain current service; add about 15 to reduce priority response times to roughly six minutes; or add 17 for a more aggressive improvement. The chief said four positions included in the approved budget contribute toward the higher staffing objective and that he would return with further staffing requests in subsequent budgets.
Detective and investigative capacity drew attention. The department currently has seven detectives carrying cases (plus a supervisor and a financial crimes detective whose caseload is unusually large). The chief said peer agencies of similar size average roughly 24 detectives and said Georgetown needs more detective capacity; he plans to request additional positions in the next budget.
Corey also described an increased number of homelessness contacts and a year‑over‑year rise in mental‑health calls, with roughly 30% of mental‑health dispatches coming from three facilities (Rock Springs, GBHI and Bluebonnet). He highlighted Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) contributions and said state law quirks require law enforcement to handle emergency detentions in some circumstances, an issue the department has placed on its legislative agenda.
Looking ahead, the chief outlined planned initiatives for 2026: targeted cyber‑fraud prevention and outreach to seniors, a trust‑building campaign (ICPs), active‑attack training (ERASE) using a virtual reality simulator, piloting BolaWrap devices for nonlethal restraint and reintroducing bike and e‑bike patrols. He also highlighted mandatory frontline physicals next year and programs to improve driving safety and officer wellness.
What happens next: the chief said he will come to council with future budget requests for detectives and continued investments in training and technology. The council moved to executive session at the end of the workshop; no formal policy actions were taken in open session.
