By 1808Delaware
Powell police handled nearly 1,500 calls for service during August while officers also logged substantial training hours, responded to mental health-related calls and maintained a visible presence at community events and local schools.
The Police Department recorded 1,479 calls for service during the month, according to the police portion of the City Manager’s Report presented to Powell City Council at its Tuesday evening meeting. Of those calls, 394 were dispatched calls. Officers completed 82 police reports and made four arrests, evenly divided between two adults and two juveniles.
Traffic Enforcement and Patrol Activity
Traffic activity accounted for another significant part of the department’s August workload, with officers conducting 106 traffic stops during the month. The department reported 35 traffic citations with crashes and 19 traffic crashes overall. Police also responded to 38 false alarms, conducted 40 house watches and recorded 61 preventive patrols. Five stacked calls, situations in which calls are awaiting an available officer, were reported during August.
More Than 170 Hours of Training
Powell officers completed 170.5 hours of training during the month, covering subjects ranging from everyday police procedures to situations involving potentially significant consequences. Training topics included decision-making in the use of force, effective report writing, officer wellness, responding to domestic violence incidents, and compliance and control tactics.
Despite the training emphasis on use-of-force decision-making, the department reported no uses of force during August.
Mental Health Calls Referred for Assistance
Mental health response also remained part of the department’s work. Five calls during August were referred to the Crisis Intervention Team, which provides a specialized response when officers encounter individuals experiencing mental health or behavioral crises.
Police Meet Residents Beyond Emergency Calls
August also brought officers into contact with residents in settings far removed from traffic stops and emergency responses. Police installed six child car seats during the month and participated in National Night Out on August 4.
Officer Bob Brown represented the department at First Friday in Delaware on August 7, while Officer Elliott brought a police cruiser to Montessori Kids Universe for display on August 8.
The beginning of the school year provided another opportunity for outreach. Officers were at Tyler Run Elementary School on August 20 and 21, where they distributed information about E-Bike safety.
The department also continued a lighter form of safety encouragement during the month by handing out Johnson’s Ice Cream coupons to children spotted wearing bicycle helmets.
Taken together, the August report reflects a department whose monthly workload stretched from hundreds of dispatched calls and traffic stops to training, crisis intervention and the smaller community interactions that happen outside the traditional police call.
