The Kokomo Police Department has become a popular place to work over the last three years.
At the beginning of 2020, there were 76 sworn officers working for the department.
But after an aggressive recruiting and testing campaign, which included a commercial that ran throughout the state inviting potential applicants to apply to the agency, officials note that there will now be 95 sworn officers by the end of this month.
That’s a 25% increase.
The increase is all part of a mission first set forth in January 2020 by Chief Doug Stout, according to a KPD media release sent out Friday morning.
At the time, officials said that the priority on having an increase in officers was to “properly serve and protect our community,” per the release.
And most of those new officers have been hired via lateral transfers too, officials note, which they point out saves the department time and money in the long run.
“Bringing the lateral transfers over, that provides more experience right away from an officer,” KPD Maj. Brian Seldon told. “That helps us. You don’t have to wait for a year for an officer to get on the street. You don’t have to send them to the academy. It takes half the time.”
But while KPD will soon sit at 95 officers, officials stated that it actually takes everyone’s help to curb crime.
“We may have 95 sworn officers by the end of July, but I want our department to consist of 60,000 employees,” Stout said in the release, referring to the city’s population.
“Criminals don’t want to come to cities with active community involvement,” Stout said. “The Kokomo Police Department continually looks for ways to better serve the community. By all of us working together, we can continue to make Kokomo a better place to work and live.”
Another area KPD highlighted in the release, which the department notes is a byproduct of the increase in officers, is the city’s reported decrease in violent crime.
“The compiled FBI crime numbers for 2022 speak volumes of the efforts of our officers and the entire community,” officials wrote in the release. “Crime in Kokomo that is classified as violent crime by the FBI has decreased by just over 30% since 2020.”
Per the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
The department adds that property crime, such as theft, has decreased by just over 20% since 2020, and officers have also been able to locate and arrest several individuals who have attempted to sell illicit drugs like opioids throughout the community.
KPD officials cite their ongoing relationship with several agencies across the community, such as the Howard County Prosecutor’s Office, Howard County Probation Department, Howard County Sheriff’s Office and Howard County Coroner’s Office, as a contributing factor to that success.
And along with increasing officers on the streets, KPD also reportedly spent the past three years looking at its use of force incidents too, according to the release.
In 2020, per officials, KPD was involved in 150 use of force situations.
In 2022, that number reportedly decreased to 110.
“As manpower increased by 25%, use of force incidents decreased by 26%,” officials stated in the release. “This is not only due to the increase in manpower, but an updated training program that focuses on improved and updated de-escalation techniques.”
Because at the end of the day, officials note, it’s about presenting a police department that the city can and should be proud of.
“This administration is committed to public safety and continuing to make strides to make our community safe, as was promised,” Seldon said. “And when there are more officers on the streets, that also increases the officer’s safety. So I think that’s what we’d like to emphasize moving forward. It’s about continuing to build a safer city.”