Lamar police report big crime drops since 2021; council presses for staffing and data

At a June 22 council meeting, Lamar Police Chief Franklin presented a multi‑year update on the Safe City crime‑reduction initiative launched in 2021, attributing large decreases in violent and property crimes to community policing, federal grant funding and a new crime suppression unit.

Chief Franklin said department staffing rose from roughly 35 officers in 2021 to 42 officers in 2025, with two more sworn in during the meeting, and highlighted a federally funded COPS grant and a grant‑funded crime analyst position that helps target patrols. He told council that violent crime and property crime have each been reduced by roughly half since the baseline, that non‑family‑member shootings fell from 27 to about seven in recent years, and that officers removed 20 guns from the street in the previous month.

Council members asked for more granular data. One asked whether the property‑crime category included retail theft (the chief said yes and cited Walmart as a recurring location), and multiple members pressed for per‑officer workload figures given calls for service have risen with local population growth. Chief Franklin agreed to provide a breakdown of calls‑per‑officer and to follow up on the "Eyes on Lamar" and Flock camera programs. Members also discussed neighborhood watch meetings and localized heat‑map deployment of the crime‑suppression unit.

The presentation drew praise from councilors who credited years of policy and investment for the results, while one councilor urged the city to maintain or increase officer numbers to sustain the trend. The chief said the crime‑suppression unit and community policing efforts are ongoing and that federal grant funds reduced the city's direct staffing cost of some positions.

Council did not take a formal vote on staffing changes during the meeting; the update concluded with staff agreeing to provide additional statistics and follow‑up materials to the council.