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Police: traffic stops and citations down compared with last year; NIBRS 'obscene material' explained
Summary
Assistant Harvard told the committee May 12 that year-to-date calls and traffic citations are down versus the previous year and provided monthly traffic-stop and ticket counts; the committee also asked for clarification on the NIBRS 'obscene material' category, which police said varies by context and can include child sexual images and revenge-porn cases.
Assistant Harvard presented the April public safety report and said year-to-date totals for calls and traffic-related citations are lower than the previous year. "Our year to date totals are down a little bit for calls for service," Harvard said, adding that enforcement counts do not reflect all traffic stops because ticketing is at officer discretion and staffing affects citation numbers.
Harvard provided monthly breakouts the committee discussed: February about 213 traffic stops with roughly 80 tickets issued, March about 283 stops with about 110 tickets, and April at 299 stops with ticket numbers still pending. Harvard attributed part of the variance to staffing shifts, noting Sergeant Hope moved from detectives to street patrol and now writes many tickets.
A council member asked about the NIBRS category labeled "obscene material"; Assistant Harvard explained the classification depends on context. "It just depends on how it's used," Harvard said, and gave examples that include sexually explicit images involving minors, revenge‑porn postings after domestic disputes, and cases where blackmail follows the sharing of explicit images. Police described standard investigative steps such as photographing evidence and searching nearby cameras.
The report also included praise for officers' first-aid response in a recent accidental shooting: committee members noted a quick tourniquet application and rapid care that helped the victim survive. Harvard said the officer response was "a great job," and the committee commended the action.
No policy or ordinance changes were presented during the report; Harvard said staff will continue to monitor trends and provide additional detail when packet statistics are available.
