2019 Annual Report DeSoto Police

2019 Annual Report DeSoto Police

Chief Executive Officer Joseph W. Costa

I would like to personally welcome you to the DeSoto Police Department’s Annual Report for 2019! Thank you for taking an interest in our department and for the support we receive from the community, the city administration and our elected officials. We hope that you will enjoy this edition and become informed of some of the highlights relative to the overall efforts and activities of the dedicated men and women that make up the entire department. This includes all of our officers, employees and volunteers in Administration, Code Enforcement, Animal Control and the Tri-City Jail. On the following pages you will get a glimpse of the department, our executive staff and some of the dedicated officers that serve and protect our City of DeSoto. The information contained herein will provide a snapshot of the programs and initiatives the department has in place. You will also get to see just how effective we are dealing with crime and our calls for service. In 2019, our overall crime decreased by 4%! We are proud to report that over the last four years our crime is down by 26.3%! Last year our crimes involving Family Violence increased by 6.2%, however, in the last five years those crimes were down by 18.5%. Property crime was 22% less last year than in 2018. DeSoto, much like the rest of the Metroplex, saw a rise in violent crime with the city tragically recording five homicides. Each of those murders has been solved, two were the result of family violence and the other three involved other criminal acts that had fatal outcomes. This past year was no different from any other relative to our community involvement. We continued to be active in our city events and community gatherings. Our officers and I are committed to attending many community meetings and events throughout the year and interacting, in a positive way, with our citizens. Fighting crime effectively involves a partnership between the citizens and the police.

Together we can work to deter crime and keep the city safe and secure. If you see something, say something by calling our non-emergency line, 972-223-6111, or by texting a tip to TIP411 (847411). Keep up to date with police information by visiting our Facebook page or web site. I encourage each of you to take an interest in your Police Department. Attend the next Citizen Police Academy, come on out and ride-a-long with an officer for an hour or two, take a tour of YOUR police department building, attend a town hall meeting or become a volunteer. By all means, get involved and get to know the officers that serve you each and every day. Citizen participation in our Citizens On Patrol, Citizen Police Academy Alumni, DeSoto Police Clergy and Community, and Ministers on Call contributed thousands of hours to the department and the entire community. Our Leadership Team continued to participate in Town Hall meetings; HOA meetings and various faith-based sponsored events. I am proud of the overall efforts of our entire department and how diligently each em- ployee works to provide the best service to our community. We continue to strive to be a police department that is the model for excellence! Our ultimate goal is to work together to lower crime and keep the citizens of DeSoto as safe and secure as possi- ble. Thanks to all of our officers, employees and volunteers that work together to make our department better and our city safe!

Assistant Chief Gary Perkins

Assistant Chief Perkins is responsible for the daily oversight and operations of the Police Department which includes the Patrol Division, Support Services Division, Records Division, Administration, Code Enforcement, Animal Control and the DeSoto Regional Jail. The Police Department is authorized to employ 79 sworn officers and 40 full/part time civilians. These employees provide police services 24 hours a day, seven days a week and serve a population of 53,568 residents in a 21.6 square mile radius. The department is nationally accredited through CALEA. The department continues to utilize crime reduction strategies, reduce patrol response times, and identify Code Enforcement issues to prevent crime and enhance the quality of life to our citizens. Our partnerships with our citizens and the numerous community groups continue as a key part in meeting our mission. The Department is divided into multiple divisions and categorized into sub-divisions based on function. ADMINISTRATION Administration consists of sworn and non-sworn employees, who are assigned as The Chief of Police, Assistant Chief of Police, Sergeant of Professional Standards, Sergeant of Professional Services, Reserve Police Officer, Alarm Permit Clerk and two staff assistants. PATROL DIVISION The Patrol Division is commanded by Captain Terry Baker and is broken down into four shifts which are: Alpha Shift, Bravo Shift, Charlie Shift, and Delta Shift. The Department’s Patrol Lieutenants each have command of a single 12-hour patrol shift and each Lieutenant is assigned a single district within the city. The Lieutenants utilize >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52

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