Agenda Highlights 5/10/22

The Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting scheduled for 5-10-22 will be centered around annual reports from the Police Department and Fire Department.

The Police Department has titled their report covering 2021 “Unprecedented Success in Unprecedented Times”. Highlights from the year include being the first department in Arkansas to have a Crisis Intervention Unit, commitment to deescalation, being one of the only departments in AR to report use of force data to the FBI, reduced incarceration rates (aided by their partnership with the District Court in establishing the text notification program to reduce failure to appear warrants), deployment of 2 live surveillance trailers with video feed to act as a deterrent in hotspots for crime and public nuisance issues, launching the new computer-aided dispatch systems and records management system to reduce response times, implementing mobile booking to reduce non-felonious incarcerations, and a 40% reduction of vehicle maintenance cost (due in part to the hiring of a Fleet Coordinator).

The Police Department received 60,840 calls for police service in 2021 and conducted 1,825 traffic stops and investigated 3,063 traffic accidents. The Criminal Investigation division was assigned 5,036 cases and had an 89.77% clearance rate. The Crimes Against Persons Unit that investigates violent crimes had 1,818 cases with a 95.65% clearance rate. The Crimes Against Property Unit had 2,109 cases with an 82.17% clearance rate. The Special Investigations Unit that investigates crimes against children had 667 cases with a 93.85% clearance rate. The Narcotics Unit seized drugs with a street value of $1,006,217 (the top three highest values of those drugs were $512,581 in marijuana, $314,874 in meth, and $121,210 in fentanyl pills).

2021 saw a 5.78% decrease versus 2020 overall in crimes of murder, kidnapping, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, burglary, shoplifting, and theft. The only categories of crime that saw an increase were homicides, motor vehicle theft, and theft of property from inside motor vehicles.

The Communications Unit took 228,343 calls with 65,940 of those being to 911. The Crisis Intervention Unit facilitated 50 voluntary referrals for mental health assistance, 10 involuntary referrals, 8 diversions from prosecution, and 1,646 follow-ups. The department’s Office of Professional Standards received 30 citizen complaints and upon investigation found 6 of them to be sustained.

Community Relations efforts included service at community organizations including the Hope Campus, Community Rescue Mission, Crisis Intervention Center, and Salvation Army. The Police Department’s Food Patrol provided 7,200 meals since August 2020. The national television show 48 Hours featured Community Relations Officer Shoptaw and Pawfficer Fuzz.

The main exceptional challenges the department faced in 2021 were labor shortages and Covid.

The highlights of the Fire Department report for 2021 include fire department participation in the Arkansas Strike Team that traveled to help out in Hurricane Ida and Andrew Dunlop receiving the FSFD Medal of Valor for his heroism in a flash flood water rescue.

In 2021 the Fire Department received 14,904 calls. 71% of those calls were rescue and medical calls, with 9,538 being medical calls, 429 for auto accidents with injury, and 454 for auto accidents without injury. 2.5% of their calls were for fires including 121 calls for building fires, 50 for vehicle fires, and 49 for grass fires. They saved 98.33% of the value of property involved in fire calls (a total of $255,728,744 worth of property saved). The average response time was 3 minutes 30 seconds. The conviction rate on arson investigations increased from 15% in 2020 to 26% in 2021.

Retirements and recruitment challenges and rising prices were the main exceptional challenges the department faced in 2021.