2021 Annual Report Police

DESOTO POLICE DEPARTMENT

Chief Executive Officer

Joseph W. Costa

Welcome to the DeSoto Police Department ’ s Annual Report for 2021! Thank you for tak- ing 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 activi- ties of the dedicated men and women that make up the entire department. This includes all of our officers, employees and volunteers in Patrol, CID, Administration, Code En- forcement, Animal Control and the DeSoto Regional Jail. Just when we thought that COVID was somewhat behind us, it came roaring back to chal- lenge us again. With the emergence of Omicron, our communities took a step back and tried to handle this new strain of COVID. The year started off as if we were emerging from the grip of the pandemic. Then mid - year it took a downward spiral with Omicron creeping into our lives. In early November, the virus was slowing down and we decom- missioned the Parkland testing and vaccine site at Ellis Davis Sports Complex. Not long after, our officers were tasked with providing security, to the same site, now operating as a contract vendor due to a sharp rise in cases. We were right in the middle of it again. However, we made it through and by the end of the year, the pandemic was subsiding and the site slowed down, again! In 2021, our overall crime increased by more than 9%! There were a few bright spots. We are proud to report that over the last five years our crime is down by 29%. Last year, property crime was down by 32% and robberies decreased by over 27%. Our city is still much safer than it was in 2017. DeSoto, much like the rest of the Metroplex, saw a rise in assaults and domestic violence last year.

Unfortunately, in 2021, our city witnessed six homicides. The most ever recorded in DeSoto. Four of those homicides involved a firearm, with drugs, namely Marijuana, being tied into each. Our community also realized a rise in shots fired calls and gun violence. As a result, the City Manager, the Mayor and I worked together to address shootings and gun violence in our city. We partnered to develop initiatives to curb violence in DeSoto. On July 31, the Police Department Chaplain, Oscar Epps, D.A. Creuzot and the City of DeSoto hosted a gun “ buy back ” program. This event was a huge success as 284 weapons were voluntarily turned in to the P.D. in exchange for a 100 - dollar gift card for each. That ’ s 284 hand guns and rifles that were unwanted and are off the streets. Other pro- grams are planned for 2022. Stay Tuned!! The Citizen Police Advisory Committee and the Mental Health Unit, called the Care Team, that were developed and implemented in 2020 continue to grow and be very suc- cessful. Both programs provide much needed resources to our officers and the community we serve. National Night Out was a huge success as our citizens participated all through- out the city. It was refreshing to see our community out together having fun.Thank you to our citizens for partnering with us to maintain order and a safe city. Now, more than ever, I encourage each of you to take an interest in your Police Depart- ment. Attend the next Citizen Police Academy, come on out and ride - a - long with an of- ficer 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 offic- ers that serve you each and every day. Thanks to all of our officers, employees and volunteers that work together to make our department better and our city safe! Thanks to every one of them for their efforts dealing with the challenges of 2021!

Assistant Chief

Gary Perkins

A ssistant Chief Perkins is responsible for the daily oversight of the op- erations of the Police Department which includes the Patrol Division, Support Services Division, the DeSoto Regional Jail. The Police Depart- ment is authorized 81 Sworn Officers and 40 full and part time civilian personnel providing Police Services 24 hours a day, seven days a week and serves an area of 21.6 square miles. In 2021 we had an increase in calls for service and reports taken the DeSoto Police Department continued to serve the community and worked with our community partners, residents and businesses toward the goal of keeping the city safe as we continued to overcome the COVID - 19 pandemic impact.

The DeSoto Police Department is divided into different divisions - Administration, Patrol, Support Services and Jail, and some units are divided into sub - divisions by function.

ADMINISTRATION DIVISION

The Administration Division consists of the Chief of Police, 1 Assistant Chief of Police, 1 Sergeant in Professional Standards, 1 Training Cor- poral, 1 Reserve Officer, 2 Staff Assistants, 3 Records Clerks and 1 part - time Records Clerk.

PATROL DIVISION

The Patrol Division is commanded by a Captain and is broken down into four 12 - hour patrol shifts. The Department ’ s Patrol Lieutenants each have command of a single pa- trol shift and each Patrol Lieutenant is assigned the individual responsibility for a sin- gle patrol district. The Lieutenants then 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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