DeSoto Police Annual Report 2018

DeSoto Police Annual Report 2018

“Excellence, one contact at a time.”

DeSoto Police Department 2018 Annual Report

Chief Executive Officer

Joseph W. Costa

Welcome to the DeSoto Police Department’s Annual Report for 2018 . 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. In 2018, we realized many accomplishments! We are proud to report that our overall Part 1 crime decreased by 25% as compared to 2017, and, overall response times de- creased by 7%. This is incredible due to the fact that at the end of the year our full time officer vacancies were at 17! In May, the department dedicated a granite Law Enforce- ment Monument to honor officers that lost their lives in the line of duty. This beautiful memorial will forever stand at the front west side of our building. In order to hire new officers an aggressive recruitment program was implemented early in the year. This program included a signing bonus and lateral entry for the hiring of TCOLE certified Police Officers with at least two years of experience. Also, City Ad- ministration approved pay raises for all city employees which included a raise to $60,000 for first year police officers. These incentives aided in the recruitment of both qualified certified officers and non-certified candidates. Our goal is to be fully staffed with all 78 sworn officer positions filled by June of 2020. Over the last five years, our crime rate has also decreased by over26%! Calls for ser- vice that involve domestic or family violence continue to be our leading, and most dan- gerous calls to which we respond. In 2018, once again, domestic violence calls de- creased, in fact they have decreased over the last five years by over 27%.

2

It’s important to note that violent crimes were lower to include: ZERO Murders and a decrease of Aggravated Assaults by 17% as compared to the previous year. The overall decrease in crime in 2018 includes reductions in the following: Robberies 7%; Burgla- ries of Homes down by 14%; Burglaries of other buildings down by 28%; Thefts were down by 18%; Criminal Mischief was down by 15% and Burglaries of Motor Vehicles (BMV) down by 35%. (Thieves gain access to most BMVs due to owners leaving their vehicles unlocked and valuables either in plain sight or easily accessible.) Auto Theft, the only crime that increased last year, was up 12%. This past year we continued to develop our community programs and interaction which would not be as effective if not for our department volunteers. Citizen participation in our Citizens On Patrol, Citizen Police Academy Alumni, DeSoto Police and Clergy and Ministers on Call contributed thousands of hours to the department and the entire com- munity. Our Leadership Team continues to participate in Town Hall meetings; HOA meetings and various faith-based sponsored events. Our Drone Program continues to soar as we have three officers that are federally certi- fied drone pilots. Our unmanned aerial equipment increased to three units and provides our officers with aerial support at crime scenes, searches, pursuits and other incidents. 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. The information on the fol- lowing pages is indicative of the accomplishments of 2018. We continue to strive to be a police department that is the model for excellence! Our ultimate goal is to work to- gether to lower crime and keep the citizens of DeSoto as safe and secure as possible. Thanks to all of our officers, employees and volunteers that work together to make our department better and our city safe!

3

Assistant Chief

Gary Perkins

Daily operations of the Police Department are overseen by Assistant Chief Perkins which includes the Patrol Division, Support Services Division, Code Enforce- ment & Animal Control and the Tri-City Regional Jail. The Police Department is au- thorized 78 Sworn Officers and 40 full and part time civilian personnel who provide Police Services 24 hours a day, seven days a week and serves a population of over 52,000 residents an area of 21.6 square miles. The department continues to utilize crime reduction strategies, reduction of response times and identification of 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 meet- ing our mission.

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

The Department’s Patrol Lieutenants each have the individual responsibility for a single Patrol District within the city while utilizing >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

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online