Government
BY ANNA MANESS
Georgetown police address uptick in calls, crashes
outdoors such as the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans, Tchida said he hopes his department will be the standard when it comes to responding to attacks and mitigating threats. “My goal for the Georgetown Police Department is that our vision is to be the standard,” Tchida said. “We are absolutely going to be the standard when it comes to the active attack domain, and we will utilize every amount of training and every resource to mitigate these threats that they hopefully never happen.”
In the past decade, the city of Georgetown has experienced a 47% increase in calls for police service, a 91% increase in motor vehicle crashes and a 39% decrease in traffic stops, according to city data. During a Feb. 11 City Council workshop, Georgetown Police Chief Cory Tchida said the department will focus on community policing, crime reduction and utilizing technology in 2025, among other priorities. After seeing an increase in active attacks
Calls for service, 2014-24
Top 10 most requested calls for service in Georgetown
30K
14% Citizen assist
911 hangups
10%
8%
Vehicle crash
25K
6% 6% 5%
Welfare concern Reckless driving Suspicious activity
20K
+46.88%
5%
Burglary alarm
15K
4%
Follow up
3%
Mental health checks
0
2%
Loud music
2014 2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020 2021
2022
2023 2024
Motor vehicle crashes, 2014-24
A common location for stop- and-go crashes is in front of Wolf Ranch, a growing center near I-35 and Hwy. 29, Tchida said. “This one’s tough. We continue to see really stark increases in motor vehicle crashes in the city,” he said. “Geographically, we’re a really big city, and there’s a lot of people coming through this city.”
3,871
Motor vehicle crashes have increased in Georgetown by 91% in the past decade.
2,030
WOLF RANCH PKWY.
35
29
N
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Traffic stops, 2014-24
Mental health calls, 2019-2024 These figures do not include cases where police officers realize a situation is a mental health crisis after arriving on scene.
Traffic stops are up since 2023 but not as high as they were in 2014-2027.
20,000
15,000
1,574
10,000
1,076
655
5,000
608
565
-39.16%
314
0
2014 2015
2016 2017
2018
2019 2020 2021
2022 2023 2024
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
SOURCE: GEORGETOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
11
GEORGETOWN EDITION
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