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Reno police chief outlines staffing push, data transparency and traffic focus at Ward 3 meeting
Summary
Reno Police Department leaders told Ward 3's neighborhood advisory board they are prioritizing officer wellness, running two academies a year to address attrition, expanding traffic enforcement (including ebikes) and publishing use-of-force and other internal-affairs data to build public trust.
Reno Police Department leadership used a quarterly Ward 3 update to outline steps aimed at rebuilding public trust while addressing staffing and traffic concerns. Chief Corey Solfrino said the department is focused on "establishing internal trust and communication" and on making transparency concrete: "I want to be able to publish our use of force data," he said. Solfrino told the board RPD is reviewing and republishing policies and moving toward forward-facing reporting through the department website and PowerDMS.
Solfrino said recruitment and training remain central. He described plans for two academies a year and detailed that the hiring-to-independent-patrol timeline can take up to roughly 18 months after academy and patrol training. "We currently have 30 people that are in training. We have 10 at the academy and 20 that are in different phases of the patrol training program," he said, noting the department runs two academies annually and must balance standards with available recruitment pools.
The chief and Lt. Tom Uterbidi also emphasized traffic enforcement and neighborhood priorities: Solfrino listed speeding, ebike safety and parking as top local concerns and said RPD is placing radar trailers and collecting data on peak times in Ward 3. Uterbidi gave a Ward 3 breakdown of common Reno Direct reports—illegal parking, graffiti, requests for additional patrols and traffic incidents—and crime-report categories including domestic battery, destruction of property, commercial burglaries and grand larcenies from vehicles. "Traffic enforcement is at the top of the list for most," Solfrino said, adding the department is discussing legislative changes to restore enforcement tools moved from criminal to civil code.
Board members asked about drone and ALPR use, staffing levels, outreach to immigrant communities and the department's coordination with unions. Solfrino said the department has four drones and is piloting additional coverage and that ALPR and visual technology helped solve local homicides; he framed technology as a force multiplier where staffing is constrained. On community trust and records access, he cited Nevada's confidentiality rules for administrative investigations but said RPD will publish aggregated data where allowed. "Actions speak louder than words," he added.
