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Police report shows declines in crime; 'Keep Bellevue Beautiful' volunteer program reports growth
Summary
Police reported a year-to-date drop in overall crime of about 28% and improvements in response time; the Keep Bellevue Beautiful program described volunteer growth, cart retrieval operations and a goal to reach every neighborhood with cleanups.
Bellevue police presented a midyear public-safety update highlighting declining crime and operational initiatives, and city staff outlined growth in a volunteer-led cleanup program.
Police Chief Wendell Shirley and Assistant Chief Andrew Popachuk told the council the department has seen an approximate 28% decline in reported crimes year to date, with crimes against persons down about 24% and property crimes down 30%. Motor vehicle thefts and vehicle prowls showed especially large decreases. The department also reported improved response times for priority calls (from roughly 3:34 to 3:14 minutes) and an increase in citations issued across categories. The chief credited specialty units and a community-crisis assistance team (CCAD) with hundreds of contacts and continuing engagement.
Assistant chief Popachuk outlined traffic-safety efforts, including a regional DUI enforcement campaign and data-driven deployment of citation resources. He also described preliminary exploration of a drone-as-first-responder program to support police and fire responses, citing projected coverage statistics and promised community transparency on use.
Separately, Evan Reed, Keep Bellevue Beautiful coordinator, reported increased volunteer engagement: 60 active adopters for the adopt-a-street program, 115 volunteer cleanups year-to-date, 311 bags of litter removed, and 1,185 shopping-cart recoveries in 2026 following 164 app reports. Reed described a '26 for 26' initiative to hold cleanups in every neighborhood and emphasized partnerships with local businesses and resident groups.
Council members thanked staff for the updates and for funding programs like CCAD, and asked for follow-up on program metrics and implementation planning for proposed initiatives such as drones.
