Board of Public Safety approves hire, hears police and fire monthly reports, signs on to HMIS

The Board of Public Safety approved moving applicant Olivia Cruz forward in the hiring process and heard monthly reports from the police and fire departments at its meeting.

The chair opened the meeting and asked the board to approve the consent agenda, which included minutes from the April 16 meeting, claims and payroll. A member moved to approve the consent agenda and the board voted to approve it.

A police department representative presented May 2026 statistics, saying call volume was "just a little bit below" last year's level and that crime totals are "trending down a little bit" year-to-date. "Calls involving weapons continue to decrease, which is a good thing," the representative said. The presenter reported that traffic stops have "flatlined" and that adult arrests were up in April while juvenile arrests were down by one.

The department reported training totals and certifications: 619.5 training hours for the month, 72 officers completed mandatory spring handgun qualification, 22 officers completed 21 hours of annual in-service training and specialty-unit training days continued. Community engagement included 11 events totaling about 35 hours, with activities such as a drug takeback day, a child-safety expo and an upcoming packer-cruiser fundraising event with Hoosier Hills Food Bank on the 30th.

Staff-level social-work activity was described: social workers handled 247 referrals and 375 contacts during the month and assisted residents with housing and behavioral-health navigation, including linking juveniles with psychiatric care and helping clients with lease signings and emergency-room advocacy. A speaker thanked "Chief Deoff" for supporting CASA; the transcript mentions the chief by name but does not show the chief introducing themself during the meeting.

On personnel, the department reported 91 sworn members and four new officers who are scheduled to start the Tuesday after Memorial Day, which will raise sworn staffing toward 95. The board voted to approve the department's request to advance applicant Olivia Cruz to the final hiring steps (local pension board and state pension fund approval). After the vote the applicant said, "Thank you."

A brief ARV/ARB deployment report described a response on South Ro where an armored response vehicle assisted officers in extracting a person in mental-health crisis who was armed; the vehicle provided lighting and cover during the incident.

The fire department reported year-to-date totals of 2,141 calls and provided May counts (33 fire calls, 219 medical calls and 38 hazardous-condition calls). Inspectors are at 14% of their inspection goal and smoke-detector installations are at 42% of a 100-unit goal. The department described recruit training (a joint academy with Monroe), technical-rescue programming and mobile integrated health activity: 43 MIH installations month-to-date and 17 assisting agencies, with partners listed such as Area 10 and Habitat for Humanity.

In general business, staff said the city signed on to the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) administered through the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority at no cost; HMIS will collect and maintain client- and service-level data to help determine service use and effectiveness for homeless populations in the state.

Officials said the new training and logistics building on South Wallet is on track for a September open house, but that exit from a month-to-month lease and other due-diligence tasks mean the facility may not be fully operational on the target date. "We're going to take our time and do it correctly," a department representative said, adding the goal is a "50-year building."

Board members answered public questions about how to participate in "Coffee with a Cop" (an informal outreach often organized by Target or local businesses) and reiterated that construction due diligence remains ongoing. A motion to adjourn carried and the chair closed the meeting.