The Rapid City Police Department is making public its annual statistical analysis for the 2016 calendar year. With a wide variety of statistics ranging from total calls-for-service to arrests in a variety of crime categories, this report offers the RCPD a by-the-numbers analytical review that will be used to help guide department operations moving forward into 2017.
pdf The report is available to the public at this link. (535 KB)
Some noteworthy trends observed by the RCPD in 2016 include:
- 2016 saw a 2.6% decrease in total calls-for-service from 2015. 2015 was a record-breaking year in terms of total calls-for service. At 123,261 calls-for-service, 2016 still remains the RCPD’s second-busiest year on record.
- There were 1,600 calls-for-service per officer in 2016. This does not take into account calls requiring multiple officers and it’s safe to assume that an officer’s call volume on a per-year basis is much higher.
- Several crime categories such as total arrests, citations, and warnings all decreased from 2015 to 2016. Motor vehicle collisions also saw a decrease.
- DUI arrests saw a small increase over 2015, while drug arrests saw a slight decrease. It’s important to note that drug arrests in 2016 decreased only slightly from a record-breaking year in 2015.
- Aggravated Assault, Sexual Assault, Arson, and Murder all decreased from 2015 to 2016. It’s worth noting that the 2015 homicide rate hit an all-time high for Rapid City.
- Motor Vehicle Theft, and Burglary increased slightly in the same timeframe. Robbery increased moderately.
- The RCPD’s top five types of call-for-service in order were Vehicle Stop, Pennington County Housing Patrol, Follow-up, Extra Patrol, and Disturbance.
“Looking at the 2016 by-the-numbers review, I’m relieved to find out that overall call-for service, along with several critical crime types, saw a decrease,” says Chief of Police Karl Jegeris. “Our efforts to reduce crime are paying off, but this report tells me that we still have our fair share of work to do.”
Also new for 2017, the RCPD has recently adopted a new mission statement and vision statement.
Mission Statement: Community First, Service Above Self, Integrity Driven. One Interaction at a Time.
Vision Statement: Striving for a safe and crime-free Rapid City.
“The adoption of these elements of the RCPD’s organizational platform are our renewed commitment to the core values that guide us in everything that we do,” says Jegeris. “We’re here to work ourselves out of a job, and will not rest until Rapid City is free of crime and disorder.”