Police chief: department will publish monthly traffic reports and boost social media amid thin traffic unit

The police chief told the Police Commission traffic subcommittee on April 20 that the department will begin publishing condensed monthly social-media posts that link to its traffic report and other department statistics to improve public perception. “I think what we're gonna do is monthly, we'll post something so it's not fatigued, put on our social media,” the Chief said.

The posts will point to an updated department statistics page that includes annual internal-affairs reports, a community-wellness report, service reports, warrant/arrest reports and traffic reports dating back to 2021, the Chief said. Committee members agreed the monthly posts should focus on traffic enforcement data — infractions, warnings and DWIs — and add notable incidents when appropriate.

Members also discussed how grant-funded enforcement (for example, distracted-driving campaigns) has become harder to staff. The Chief said many grants require volunteers and that some grants have been difficult to justify because the department cannot reliably staff the needed shifts. “There's a lot of investment and time in the front end to get those grants. And what we've discovered was, on the flip side, nobody's filling them,” the Chief said.

Staffing for the traffic division remains thin. The Chief reported the traffic unit currently includes officers Kasiva, Sergeant Ola and Tenant Barube and described the unit as a “skeleton crew.” He said there are no lateral hires on the current list and that the department is pursuing options, including a buyback program, to attract candidates.

To reduce single-person bottlenecks for fleet maintenance, the Chief said public-works engineers have been trained to handle some traffic-signal and crosswalk-signal work that previously required a single mechanic. That training, he said, should reduce reliance on outside vendors for routine repairs.

Committee members suggested targeted initiatives — crosswalk-yield enforcement and work-zone safety patrols — as ways to maximize visibility despite limited staff. The Chief said the department will continue to deploy annual initiatives and use supervisors to flag noteworthy incidents for social-media posting.

The subcommittee did not take formal action on staffing or grant strategy at the meeting; discussion focused on outreach and enforcement priorities and on monitoring how summer operations affect patrol staffing.