Tumwater police say pandemic, legislation lowered crime statistics in 2021
.png "The Tumwater Police Department met with the Public Health and Safety Committee on April 12 to discuss 2021 statistics and reform legislation.")
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, halting many in-person interactions across the country, sheltering in place came with some advantages to local jurisdictions.
The Tumwater Police Department, in an effort to increase transparency, met with city officials on the Public Health and Safety Committee last week to discuss how the department has changed and what they’ve seen from the public since the start of the pandemic.
In 2021, crime and calls for service were down compared to previous years, putting fewer people in jails and creating less need for use of force from officers. But Police Chief Jon Weiks said police reform legislation also contributed heavily to fewer calls and arrests, with police unsure of whether or not they’re allowed to pursue some cases.
Weiks gave a presentation that highlighted the staff makeup, calls for service, use of force, training and more.
With a police budget of just over $8 million last year, Weiks said 50% went to officers’ salaries and other department employees. About 20% went to benefits for employees, 11% to fleet services and information technology.
Only about 1% went to training and travel and 4% went to jails, which Weiks said is due to courts being shut down during the pandemic and fewer people being prosecuted immediately after committing a crime.
Weiks said the police department received 17,455 calls for service in 2021, which is up from 17,238 in 2020 but down compared to 18,906 in 2019 before the pandemic.
In 2021 the department made a total of 500 arrests, down from 600 in 2020 and 1,088 in 2019. Weiks attributed this trend to courts being shut down more frequently.
“Arrests were made but we didn’t have anywhere to take them, so a lot of referrals were made to the courts,” he said.
There were 2,142 total incidents in Tumwater last year, including thefts, burglaries, assaults, vehicle prowls and more. In 2020, there were 2,239 incidents and 2,751 in 2019.
Weiks said a lot of crime is detected by officers by conducting field interviews and routine traffic stops. But since recent reform legislation made it difficult to pursue people without probable cause, Weiks said many crimes have gone undetected.
In 2021 officers conducted 913 field interviews, compared to 1,800 in 2019.
“It’s very rare that you’ll see us in a pursuit,” Weiks said. “You can hear people on the police radio and people not stopping even on simple traffic stops. They know they don’t have to stop and that we can’t chase them.”
But now the language for House Bill 2037 has been made more clear and officers can now pursue vehicles under reasonable suspicion, Weiks said. Still, most pursuits have to be approved by a supervisor and can only involve a potentially serious violent offense, under Senate Bill 5919.
Weiks said the language surrounding House Bill 1735 has also been updated to be more clear on the definition of use of force and de-escalation tactics. He said the legislation has reinstated officers’ ability to use force when deemed necessary.
In 2021, the Tumwater Police Department noted 43 instances of use of force. That number is down from years past, with 57 in 2020, 73 in 2019 and 77 in 2018.
Council member Angela Jefferson said she’d like to see the department break down cases even further to find trends in cases involving substance abuse, mental health calls, abuse and more. Weiks said that information will be presented at a meeting in June.
Weiks said officers and other department personnel went through 6,639 hours of training in 2021, and every individual also did 59 hours of internal training. Some of the training included sessions on firearms, defensive tactics, non-biased policing, emergency vehicle operations, CPR and more.
The department participated in about a dozen community events, and Weiks said they typically do more in a non-pandemic year. He said they’re starting to ramp up in-person events again.
Lastly, Weiks said the department is in the process of finding a new K9 unit after their current dog, James, got injured a few months ago and is now approaching the end of his service life. He said the process of finding a new dog and handler and getting them accustomed to the department takes about a year.
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