Agenda Highlights 5/28/24
The Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting scheduled for 5-28-24 will begin with the presentation of the annual report from the Police Department for 2023. Highlights include…
There was a 13.35% overall reduction in crime compared to 2022 and a reduction over the 5 year and 10 year averages of 17% and 16%.
The department came in over 2 million dollars under budget with total expenses of $24,529, 815.08.
The Community Relations Division implemented the Public Safety Cadets chapter, launched the Adventures of Pawfficer Fuzz children’s podcast, and has distributed 17,500 meals through their Food Patrol program since 2020. Their most popular crime prevention class they taught this year was the Citizen Response to an Active Shooter class.
The Crisis Intervention Unit saw a 117% increase in service calls in 2023. They diverted 114 people away from legal proceedings and into assistance instead and referred 796 people for mental health treatment.
The Motors Unit responded to 323 vehicle collisions, made 1254 traffic stops, and responded to 26 accidents with serious injuries or fatalities.
The Bicycle Unit responded to 1,296 service calls (mostly downtown). Through a grant, they upgraded their equipment with Tero 3.0 electric bicycles and bluetooth helmets.
The Criminal Investigations division were assigned 3,803 cases and had a clearance rate of 89.32%.
The rate of burglary cases was down in comparison with 2022 (491 vs 729), as were aggravated assault (782 vs 806), robbery (57 vs 66), sexual assault (139 versus 142), larceny (3093 vs 3471), and motor vehicle theft (328 vs 434). Arson remained the same as 2022 with 17 cases. Murder rose by one case in 2023 compared with 2022 (5 vs 4) but was still down significantly compared with the 5 and 10 year averages.
The Crimes Against Persons division saw 1,121 cases with an 80.46% clearance rate.
The Special Investigations Unit that deals with crimes against children, sex offender registration, runaways, cyber-crimes, computer forensics, and crime scene investigation saw 882 cases with a 93.42% clearance rate.
The Narcotics Unit in collaboration with the FBI intercepted 5000 fentanyl pills in one shipment headed to this area. They acquired a night vision and infrared equipped drone to help locate suspects that have fled. They deployed 2 concealed pole cameras. They completed 99 controlled drug buys, an increase of 26.79% over 2022. The top drugs seized in 2023 were marijuana, meth, and fentanyl.
Animal Services started a new policy of directing animal calls to patrol officers immediately if no animal services wardens are available. With 203 citations in 2023, there was a 332% increase in animal related citations over 2022. There were 7,513 animal related calls. 1,152 animals were transported to the shelter and 300 were reunited with their owners.
The Police Department received the prestigious CALEA Tri-Arc award.
Operators answered 175,845 calls including 65,924 emergency calls, 75,976 calls for patrol officers, 15,296 fire calls, and 8,198 animal services calls. 5,046 warrants were received and 2,561 of those were served.
Top future plans and priorities for the department in the near future include expanding use of the FLOCK automated license plate reader cameras, implementation of an advanced dispatch system, use of the SHIELD program to identify at-risk youth and connect them with community resources, rigorous enforcement in response to the fentanyl problem including utilizing the “death by delivery” charge in cases where drug distribution results in death, implementation of Shotspotter to detect gunshots, establishing an 8 officer Traffic Unit, opening the second precinct and the new 911 call center, strengthening community engagement, expansion of the Crisis Intervention Unit, and increased animal ordinance enforcement.
The Board will hear the presentation of the 2023 Fire Department annual report. The department faced staffing shortages in 2023 with 10 retirements and one death. Recruiting new hires has been challenging, but so far they have hired 5 new recruits. There was a loss of data from failure of the record system, so the available data is not an entirely complete picture of the numbers for the year. But with the data available it can be seen that the department received 15,296 calls. 236 of those calls were fires including 86 structure fires, 41 vehicle fires, 71 natural vegetation fires, and 31 outdoor rubbish fires. 5,844 of those calls were rescue and EMS calls. The department saved 94.04% of the property involved in fires, saving a total of $17,541,200 worth of property.
The Board will discuss amending the Unified Development Ordinance to create a Military Compatibility Overlay District. In June 2022, the City passed a moratorium on residential construction in the area near the airport and the moratorium was extended in October 2023. In conjunction with the moratorium, an expert consultant was hired and based on his findings and recommendations, the City Administration recommends that the Board pass the Military Compatibility Overlay District and then could repeal the construction moratorium. The Planning Commission voted against the Military Compatibility Overlay District with 4 opposed, 3 in favor, and 1 abstention.
The Military Compatibility Overlay District would include the entire City and the extraterritorial jurisdictions. But only 3 areas of the city would have City regulations, the Lighting MCA, Noise MCA, and Security MCA. The Lighting MCA would apply to property within the runway buffer and prohibit use of search lights, lasers, and high intensity advertising lights. The Noise MCA would cover areas near the airport in the 65-80 decibel noise contours and would require new noise sensitive land uses to meet sound transmission classes for their noise contour. The Security MCA would cover property physically contiguous to the airport property and would require a buffer of 30 ft for all property with a shared boundary with the airport, would establish a 35 ft max height above the Established Airfield Elevation for buildings, and would require Board of Directors approval for all property sold, transferred, or developed by any non-US entity or its agent.
