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Police chief disputes media comparison to Tacoma, cites sharp drop in Ruston property crime
Summary
Ruston Police Chief Bautista presented an internal analysis of FBI UCR data showing a post‑COVID rise followed by a steep decline in property crime; he said 2025 property crime is about 30% of the pre‑COVID level and cautioned that per‑100,000 rates can mislead very small cities like Ruston.
Ruston Police Chief Bautista told the City Council on Nov. 18 that an item on King5 comparing Ruston’s crime rates to Tacoma’s overstated the city’s situation. Bautista said he reviewed FBI Uniform Crime Report data back to 2019 and found that, although crime rose after the COVID lockdowns, it has since fallen and "property crime in 2025 is just 30% of what it was in the year preceding COVID lockdowns." He said adding two fully trained officers in fall 2023 contributed to the decline.
Bautista argued county- or state-level metrics expressed "per 100,000 residents" can distort comparisons for very small places; Ruston has about 1,000 residents, he said, and the department’s counts place Ruston among jurisdictions with the lowest absolute incident totals in Pierce County. The chief’s written report and UCR tables were filed with the meeting record. The council did not vote on the report; it was presented as a staff update.
