Simsbury police say rise in logged incidents largely reflects patrol reporting and vacancies, not clear crime surge

At the Feb. 9 commission meeting, a commissioner (Unidentified Speaker 2) reported a year‑over‑year uptick in logged incidents comparing 2024 to 2025, described in the meeting as roughly 22 percent.

Chief (Unidentified Speaker 3) cautioned that the increase includes many administrative entries called "patrol checks"—officers documenting stops, business checks and presence—which now are easier to record via in‑car computers and can raise call‑for‑service totals without signaling an underlying crime spike. The chief said patrol checks can occur multiple times per night and said documentation practices have increased overall recorded activity.

The department also told the commission it currently has five patrol vacancies, one animal control vacancy and one dispatch vacancy, which the chief said contributes to underspending in full‑time payroll lines and affects operational capacity while recruitment continues. The chief said hiring processes are open and applications are available at policeapp.com.

Commissioners requested clearer data to separate administrative patrol checks from incident types; no formal directive was recorded at the meeting to change reporting practices.

Next step: commissioners and staff signaled an intent to review reporting categories and staffing plans; the department will continue recruitment and provide follow‑up details in future meetings.