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Police report shows slight drop in calls and arrests; department highlights drone use in investigation
Summary
Woodway public safety leaders reported a roughly 10% drop in police calls for service year-over-year and a decline in arrests, while describing recent investigative successes including a same-day hit-and-run arrest and use of a thermal drone in a burglary response.
The Woodway Police Department reported a roughly 10% decline in calls for service in the quarter ending Sept. 30, while arrests fell from 138 to 101, Sergeant Joshua Hillyard said during the city council meeting. Fire and EMS activity held steady, officers said.
Sgt. Joshua Hillyard, who assisted the department's quarterly presentation, told the council that overall reported thefts rose slightly from 22 to 27, assaults numbered 10 and weapons violations were four during the period. Citations totaled about 460. Officials said burglaries remained low (one reported) and there were no sex-crime reports this quarter.
The department highlighted several investigations it described as successful: officers stabilized a pedestrian struck in a hit-and-run and, following an on-scene investigation, located and arrested a suspect the following day. Staff also credited the department's drone team and thermal-imaging capability with helping locate a suspect during a night-time burglary response, which officers said improved safety and search speed.
Council members praised the department's trend toward fewer calls and arrests. "Your goal was eventually to have zero in all these boxes," one council member recalled the department aiming for in prior years, and speakers applauded the leadership and officers' performance.
The presentation included a note that the department's reporting conforms to state requirements for Uniform Crime Reports; officials said certain granular demographic categories are set by state reporting and are not available locally unless the state defines them.
No formal action was taken on the public safety report; the presentation was received for the record.
