DPD Annual Report 2017

DPD Annual Report 2017

2017 Annual Report

DESOTO POLICE DEPARTMENT

“Excellence Through One Contact at a Time”

Chief of Police

Joseph W. Costa

Welcome to the DeSoto Police Department’s Annual Report for 2017. 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 Admin- istration, Code Enforcement, Animal Control and the Tri-City Jail. In 2017, our overall crime decreased by 13.3% as compared to 2016, and, response times for high priority calls de- creased as well to under four minutes. Over the last five years, our crime rate has also decreased by over 13%! Calls for service that involve domestic or family violence continue to be our leading, and most dangerous calls to which we respond. In 2017, domestic violence calls for service decreased by 6%! The overall decrease in crime in 2017 includes reductions in the following: Burglaries of Homes down by 34%; Bur- glaries of other buildings down by 36%; Thefts were down by 2%; Criminal Mischief were down by 15% and Bur- glaries of Motor Vehicles (BMV) down by 26%. (Thieves gain access to most BMVs due to owners leaving their vehicles unlocked and valuables either in plain sight or easily accessible.) We did have some slight increases in vari- ous crimes in 2017. Ten more robberies, nine more rapes and aggravated assaults and, twenty-six more vehicles were stolen last year as compared to 2016. This past year we continued to develop our community programs and interaction. Our Leadership Team continues to participate in Town Hall meetings; HOA meetings and various faith based sponsored events. 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 possible. In 2017 we implemented a Drone Program, so that we can have a better perspective from an aerial vantage point of crime scenes, searches, pursuits and other incidents. “Captain America” and “Wonder Woman” joined the de- partment as a result of our newly formed “Super Heroes and Badges” Program. We partnered with DeSoto ISD and presented the “Comply Now Complain Later” Program to high school students in an effort to educate them on proper protocol during interactions with police. Each officer assigned to patrol was issued newly purchased ri- fles. The PD building was made more secure with increased perimeter security cameras and the installation of bul- let resistant glass on the front of the building. I am proud of the overall efforts of our entire department and how diligently each employee works to provide the best service to our community. The information on the following pages is indicative of the accomplishments of 2017. Thanks to all of our officers, employees and volunteers that work together to make our department better and our city safe!

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Assistant Chief of Police Gary Perkins

A ssistant Chief Perkins oversees the daily operation of the police department, which includes the Patrol Division, Support Services Division, Code Enforcement, Animal Control and the DeSoto’s Tri-City Jail. The police department is authorized 77 Sworn Officers and 40 full and part time civilian personnel who provide police services 24 hours a day, seven days a week and serve a population of over 52,000 residents in an area of 21.6 square miles. 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 with- in the city and 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

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