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Star Police report shows April uptick in juvenile and drug incidents; department explains response metrics
Summary
Star Police Chief Tim Haines reported 135 crimes year‑to‑date, 387 calls for service in April and a sharp month‑over‑month increase to 40 juvenile‑activity calls, noting a 33% increase in drug charges for April; the department said proactive policing can vary based on call demand and staffing.
Chief Tim Haines delivered the Star Police Department's April report to the City Council on June 2, citing a total of 135 crimes reported year‑to‑date and 387 calls for service in April.
Haines highlighted that juvenile‑activity calls rose to 40 in April from 15 the previous year and that drug‑related arrests increased by about 33% that month, with most society crimes tied to methamphetamine or cocaine. He reported 107 citations and said there was one mental‑hold case and 12 arrests in total for the period.
The chief also reviewed response‑time metrics: a city interior code‑3 average near 2 minutes 44 seconds and an outside‑city average near 5 minutes 15 seconds; he explained two outlier code‑3 responses inflated the outside average because of dispatch errors and Highway 16 travel times. Haines noted the department's proactive policing count (2,079 self‑assigned calls) moves inversely with citizen calls for service: more incoming calls typically reduce capacity for proactive work.
Council members asked whether the department has a target level for proactive policing; Haines said he would like a rate three times the citizen call rate when operationally feasible but acknowledged the department must balance responses to higher‑priority incidents. The chief and council also said they will continue to monitor the effect of growth on response times and staffing needs as new subdivisions are built out.
