Sheriff Jason Dingman reports 6,234 incident reports in 2025, previews new records system

Sheriff Jason Dingman told the Morris City Council that Stevens County recorded 6,234 incident case reports (ICRs) in 2025 and that roughly 60% of those originate within Morris City limits, though current record systems make isolating Morris-only incidents labor-intensive. "2025, we had 6,234 ICRs," Dingman said, explaining that the county'wide records management setup now groups former Morris Police Department data with the sheriff's office and requires manual review to extract city-specific incidents.

Dingman said the sheriff's office signed a contract this spring for a new computer-aided dispatch and records-management system that will take about 18 months to implement and should allow far faster, more precise local data queries. He also summarized other 2025 activity: 201 civil process actions, 94 permits-to-carry issued, 94 permits-to-purchase, and 1,068 ambulance calls countywide, with the sheriff's office assisting on an estimated three-quarters of those calls.

The sheriff highlighted community programs including a medication drop box (240 pounds collected last year), a Shop with a Cop holiday program and youth outreach events. He said the office is near full staffing and expects to make an offer to fill the final vacancy next week.

Council members asked whether tracking of city ordinance enforcement is burdensome; Dingman said it is recorded in ICRs but requires a manual search under the current system. He repeated the department's invitation for residents to ask questions and schedule ride-alongs to learn more about operations.

The council did not take any formal action beyond receiving the report; the sheriff was invited as part of the meeting's invited guest presentations. The council suggested scheduling a future work session to discuss the contract relationship with the sheriff's office as part of ongoing budget and service reviews.