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Chief Parsons: Colonial Beach police logged 2,805 calls and 55 arrests in second-quarter report
Summary
Police Chief Parsons told the Town Council on July 15 that the Colonial Beach Police Department responded to 2,805 calls for service in Q2, made 55 arrests (including summonses), and is adjusting deployment to weekend and evening crime peaks; the report also included fire-company and EMS response statistics.
Chief Parsons, chief of the Colonial Beach Police Department, told the Town Council on July 15 that the department responded to 2,805 calls for service in the second quarter and recorded 55 arrests. "I know that sounds high," Parsons said, noting that the arrest count includes service of summonses that initiate court proceedings and therefore does not reflect only physical detentions.
The quarterly slide presentation showed 101 incident reports, 346 traffic stops and five investigated collisions during April–June. Parsons described the top offense categories as a mix of ‘‘other offenses’’ (a category produced by their records software), destruction of property or vandalism, disorderly conduct, driving under the influence and simple assault. He said ongoing software recoding and data-cleanup work have reduced cases classified as ‘‘other’’ compared with the same period last year.
The chief highlighted timing trends the department uses to guide patrol schedules: Saturdays were the busiest day, followed by Sunday and Friday, and hourly peaks appeared around 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Parsons said the department is adjusting scheduling to address those higher-demand periods.
Parsons also reviewed traffic-enforcement data, saying the most common citations were exceeding 35 mph in posted zones, speeding in business or residential areas, reckless driving, no state inspection and operating a handheld device while driving. He showed comparative charts against the same quarter last year.
The report included public-safety partner statistics: the Colonial Beach Volunteer Fire Company responded to 170 calls in the quarter (55 fire calls, 15 motor-vehicle accidents, 84 EMS calls), logging 389.89 volunteer hours and averaging about 3.3 members per call. Westmoreland Department of Emergency Services reported 287 medical calls in Colonial Beach, with an average response time of 8 minutes 33 seconds and 180 transports — an improvement from 8 minutes 48 seconds the prior year.
Parsons closed the presentation by noting data-quality work in the department’s records system to correct instances listed as "no charge" or "no charge listed," and the council moved on without questions recorded in the transcript.
The council’s next scheduled meeting will include additional items on the agenda; the financial-report presentation followed Parsons’ report during this session.
