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Police chief says spike in "person crimes" reflects records change and more officer contacts
Summary
At the meeting the Police Chief said a recent jump in "person crimes" is largely due to a new records-management system that captures more calls for service and increased officer-initiated contacts; commissioners also pressed staff about overtime caused by staffing gaps.
The Police Chief told the Warrenton City Commission that recent increases in "person crimes" shown in the department's report reflect changes in reporting and more officer-initiated contacts rather than a single pattern of serious crime. A commissioner noted the department's year-to-date person crimes were up 62% and April showed an 87% increase; the chief said the new records-management system, implemented in November, is more accurate and captures disturbances and other calls that were missed by the previous system.
"I found that it is, a little more accurate in capturing, certain types of crimes and with that we weren't capturing before in the other one," the Police Chief said, adding that many entries are nonserious calls such as assaults or verbal disturbances. The chief also said officers are initiating more contacts, which increases recorded incidents, and that staffing shortages have forced longer shifts. "When anybody's gone, it pushes everybody to 12 hour shifts. So that's 6 hours of overtime every day just to cover the shifts," the chief said.
Commissioners asked for follow-up detail on which specific person-crime categories drove the April increase and about the sources of higher overtime; the chief said he would review the data and report back. The consent calendar, which included the April police report, was approved by unanimous voice vote.
