This will be the first year of a public Annual Report for the Parsons Police Department. The Parsons Police Department personnel started gathering information for the report January 1st of this year. The information gathered in this report has been an eye-opening experience for everyone involved and will be instrumental in showing the public what their police department does for the community.

"This is just the beginning for the police department in 2019", according to Police Chief Robert Spinks. "I think the public will be pleasantly surprised with what the report shows," continued Spinks. Parsons Police Sergeant Jason Ludwig headed up the report and worked with division heads to gather information and assemble the needed information. "It was a long process, but the result was worth the hours put into it. If we can show the community what we respond to and the volume of the calls for service, then I think it will only strengthen police relations with the public. We were also able to show trends for the last few years to give everyone and idea of how their department is performing over an extended period," said Ludwig. "The numbers gathered was by Dispatcher Marshall Sills. He is the real hero behind the keyboard for this project. Everything I asked from him he was able to dig into and provide the needed information," continued Ludwig.

The Annual Police Report shows a reduction in serious crime reported in Parsons during 2018. In all but one category of FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR) reportable crime is down from 2017. Domestic Violence showed a slight increase from 2017, but is down from the high in 2015. In comparison to surrounding communities Parsons does not lead in total crime. This provides a higher 'livability' than some of the surrounding cities. Parsons is second in population of the recorded cities, but only 3rd in total crime rate. In the Core Crime Statistics, the department has shown a decrease in almost all categories.

These statistics are covered in detail on pages 10-15 of the Annual Report. Chief Robert Spinks says, "transparency of our Department is paramount to the success of our city." This report can be found on the Parsons Police Departments website www.parsonspd.com 

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