Touting the success of Jackson's police

This week I would like to highlight our Jackson Police Department and some of its statistics from the last full year. Under the leadership of chief James Humphreys, the police force of 23 officers supported by the communications division of seven, and their administrative assistant, keep our City of Jackson safe.

During the past year the police department handled more than 10,000 calls for service, which is the lowest in the last five years. This is the result of diligent police work and constant surveillance of our city. The department worked more than 400 traffic accidents last year, the lowest in the past five years. Of those 400 accidents, there were no traffic fatalities and 45 accidents resulted in injuries.

Of the top 10 locations for accidents, eight of them were on East Jackson Boulevard. We should be extra observant as we drive along this area and watchful of those making turns into and out of the businesses.

Officers conducted over 3,000 vehicle stops and issued approximately 1,500 citations to increase safety for our citizens and visitors to our city. The number of vehicle stops was the same as last year and down from the previous three years. Approximately 700 of the tickets were for hazardous moving violations, the majority for speeding.

The department made more than 400 criminal arrests last year. This is equal to or lower than any of the past five years. There were 45 burglaries and one assault with a firearm.

One of the most gratifying achievements by the Jackson Police Department has been the national accreditation through the CALEA (Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies). The department successfully passed its on-site assessment in 2013 and gained accreditation status in front of the Schaumburg, Illinois, CALEA Conference in July of 2014. The department is accredited for an additional three years and is working toward reaccredited status in 2017. Currently, Jackson Police is one of only 12 municipal agencies in the State of Missouri that is accredited.

The department has been very active in applying for and receiving grants from several entities. It has received grants of $10,000 for traffic enforcement overtime through the Missouri Division of Highway Safety; $1,500 from the Community Caring Council for expenses associated with conducting alcohol compliance checks and underage drinking investigations; $13,000 from grants for equipment from the city's insurance agency, MIRMA; and a block grant.

The Jackson R-2 School District has an excellent working relationship with the department. The school resource officer program is a nationally accepted program involving the placement of law enforcement officers within the educational environment. The officers are involved in working closely with the principals and counselors in developing a proactive approach in dealing with issues of today's youth in not only the school setting but also in the community. The second school resource officer is being added to this successful program this year.

The Jackson Police Department is also very involved in community-oriented programs such as the annual toy drive, Safety City, SALT program, POW/MIA walk, Health Point run, the Optimists Respect for the Law program, Youth in Government programs and Coffee with a Cop mornings. The toy drive received donations of more than $10,000 for needy families. The National Drug Take Back Program received more than 170 pounds of old prescription medications to be properly destroyed.

In today's world, the challenges of public safety in a growing city are many. It is paramount that we offer a safe environment for our citizens. I believe with the support from our citizens and by providing the police department the resources required, they will meet those challenges and continue to keep the City of Jackson safe.

Dwain Hahs serves as mayor of the city of Jackson. He can be reached at mayorhahs@jacksonmo.org.