Interim police chief: property crime falls 33.9% while shots-fired reports rise among youth

The interim police chief told the Franklin City Council on April 14 that overall Part I crime fell in 2024, driven by a nearly 34% decrease in property offenses even as violent crime edged up.

"Overall, we experienced a decrease in part one offenses between 2023 and 2024 with 116 fewer reported offenses," the interim police chief said, noting that the Uniform Crime Report categories the department uses separate violent-crime and property-crime trends.

City police recorded a 4.8% increase in violent crime year over year, the presenter said, adding that the rise came from a single category: aggravated assault. The chief explained that aggravated assault under UCR typically involves an unlawful attack accompanied by a weapon or other means likely to produce serious bodily harm. "Because arson data is not consistently available, it is not included in the crime index total, but is added to the modified crime index total," the chief said when describing reporting rules.

The department also reported a pronounced increase in calls classified as "shots fired," and said many of those incidents involved juveniles. "It seems that there's been a noticeable increase in reports in that category that involving the youth and the juveniles in the city," the chief said, and described stepped-up patrols, technology deployments (including camera partnerships) and multi-jurisdictional investigations aimed at hotspot areas.

Operational metrics presented to council showed the communications center handled 33,868 calls in 2024, including 5,384 911 calls and 29,025 police calls. Animal-control and shelter figures were also included: 121 dog intakes and 141 cat intakes in the year, with adoptions, owner reclaimings and transfers noted.

The presentation also detailed workforce challenges. The department said it typically receives fewer than 10 applicants a year and often disqualifies roughly half for background reasons. Training from academy entry through field training totals approximately 10 months, lengthening time-to-deploy for new officers. The chief said the city has pulled the dedicated traffic officer back into general patrol because of staffing pressures, even as traffic summonses and arrests increased and traffic accidents declined by about 16%.

Leaders and councilors asked about ward-level notifications after major incidents and access to camera feeds; the chief said some investigations require restricted viewing but encouraged council to coordinate through staff for legitimate oversight requests.

Council did not take a formal policy vote tied to the presentation; the chief closed by saying the department will continue community engagement and pursue recruitment and retention incentives.

The council meeting record shows the police presentation prompted wide council praise but also requests for improved information-sharing and for strategies to address youth-involved shootings.