PUBLIC SAFETY
SHIFTING FOCUS
Shenandoah focuses police enforcement efforts on city limits
The Shenandoah Police Department added 360 hours a month of patrol time within its city limits after a Jan. 27, 2021, agreement ended its patrols in The Woodlands Township. This resulted in more cases documented by the department.
Number of arrests
Report type
2016-18
2019-21
Misdemeanor Felony Robbery Assault Sexual assault Burglary of motor vehicle Narcotics Driving while intoxicated Theft Auto theft
628
713
323
547
BY ANDREW CHRISTMAN
hotels … and being more proactive,” Dunlap said. “We needed more traffic contacts because the more contacts they make the probability is higher that they are going to make contact with criminal activity.” Dunlap said a crime category more common in areas such as hotels is sexual assault. From 2016-18, the SPD made 13 sexual assault arrests. During 2019-21, there were 23 arrests, a 77% increase from the previous period. Another increase from the depart- ment’s efforts is in traffic citations, which saw a 26% increase between the two time periods with 8,917 in 2016-18 and 11,218 in 2019-21. Dunlap noted the money from cita- tion fines does not go to the city of Shenandoah because all citations are written out of Montgomery County Precinct 3. Future needs During the March 3 meeting, Dun- lap addressed future needs for the department, which includes request- ing two patrol officers, one detective, one administrative sergeant and an officer for a K-9 unit between fiscal years 2022-23 and 2024-25. As of March 23, Dunlap said the department was one officer short of being fully staffed at 26 officers. Dunlap said the average cost for a new officer position, including equipment, salary, training and benefits, is around $120,000. In the adopted fiscal year 2021-22 budget, the police department was budgeted around $3.5 million, a third of the
22
10
After ending its policing contracts with The Woodlands in early 2021, The Shenandoah Police Department has shifted its focus to crime within the city limits, resulting in an increase of 2,000 cases from 2016-18 to 2019-21. Shenandoah police Chief Troye Dunlap said a mutual agreement ending patrols in The Woodlands in January 2021 freed up around 360 hours per month for officers to spend within their own city limits. Dunlap said the renewed focus on criminal apprehension has brought about more arrests. Dunlap said the city also created a code enforcement officer position, meaning officers no longer have to enforce code violations and are required to track fewer activities throughout their days. Officials said the next step for the department is to add five officers by 2025—a total cost of $600,000—to address a growing population as multifamily projects and businesses continue to come to the city. Increasing cases During a March 3 Shenandoah City Council meeting, Dunlap presented a comparison of the police reports from his department in 2016-18 and 2019-21, which yielded totals of 13,517 and 15,644 reports, respectively. “I told [the department] what areas I wanted to focus on, which were hotels. …We have a lot of prostitution and burglaries around
46
50
13
23
414
323
204
259
137
160
498
580
62
64
SOURCE: SHENANDOAH POLICE DEPARTMENT/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
COSTS AND POPULATION The Shenandoah Police Department could add up to five additional officers by 2025 at a total cost of $600,000, bringing the force to 31 total officers. 26 Sworn officers $120,000 annual cost per additional officer
$3.5 million in the FY 2021-22 police budget
+ 5 Additional officers by 2025
SOURCE: CITY OF SHENANDOAH/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
city’s total budget. According to the 2020 American Community Survey five-year esti- mates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Shenandoah has a population of 3,499, meaning there is one officer for about every 135 people. “I know if you look at the size of the city and the population, it appears like we have a lot of police officers,” Dunlap said. “But if you look at the congestion and daily population, that is significantly higher.” Dunlap said the daily population passing through Shenandoah ranges
from 35,000-40,000. “If you look at a 5-square-mile area, we have three major hospitals, a college, two high schools, several elementary schools and two major shopping malls,” Dunlap said. “That ... creates a lot of opportunities for criminal behavior.” Dunlap said the need for officers will increase as the population in the region increases. “We want that reputation out there ... that if you are in Shenandoah, the odds of getting caught are signifi- cantly higher,” Dunlap said.
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