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Emeryville police report shows falling property crime, low uses of force but warns of staffing squeeze
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Summary
Captain Nicholas Clonge told the Emeryville City Council that property crime trended down in 2025 and the department recorded only 59 uses of force across 36,383 calls for service, but he warned of a potential 40% vacancy rate and described needs for training, dispatch hires and charging infrastructure to electrify patrol cars.
Captain Nicholas Clonge presented the Emeryville Police Department’s 2025 annual report to the council, summarizing staffing levels, crime trends, internal affairs findings and operational priorities.
Clonge said the department filled about 88% of authorized positions in 2025, and that sworn staff were about 80% male and 20% female — a female share he described as above the national average but still short of EPD goals. He told the council the city had 36,383 calls for service in 2025 and the department recorded 59 incidents involving use of force, representing a small fraction of overall calls; most such incidents resulted in no injury.
On crime trends, Clonge said property crime continued a multiyear downward trend; petty theft and a small uptick in residential burglary were noted, and violent crime remained low for the city’s daytime population levels. He flagged a brief series of brush fires along the tracks that the department treated as likely related incidents but for which no arrest was made.
Clonge described internal affairs activity in 2025: six complaints involving nine personnel and 13 total allegations, with one allegation sustained for a policy violation and the remainder exonerated or not sustained. He said the department purged more property evidence than it booked last year, freeing storage space.
On capacity, Clonge warned of a potential 40% vacancy rate in coming months (five officer openings today with possibly eight by July 1) and noted many staff have under five years’ experience; he recommended continuing investments in training, field training officers, and retention. He also described technology pilots and grant‑funded programs: electronic citation issuance to speed stops, grant funding for bulletproof vest replacement and traffic‐safety enforcement, and a phone‑tree for nonemergency calls to funnel noncritical contacts away from 911 dispatchers. The department is evaluating drones for tactical operations but has not purchased them.
Council members asked about the feasibility of electrifying patrol vehicles; Clonge said electrification of non‑patrol fleet vehicles is underway but full patrol electrification is constrained by a lack of level‑3 charging infrastructure at the station and by cost. He described discussions with city partners about adding high‑capacity lines and potential backup generators to avoid leaving officers stranded if chargers are inoperable.
Council members thanked the department for the presentation and praised community policing efforts; several asked for follow‑up on arson/brush fire investigations and on the staffing plan to address upcoming retirements and academy timelines.
