Mansfield reports lower crime and returns to near-full police staffing

Mayor Jodie Perry said public safety is the foundation for the city’s other priorities and reported measurable improvements in 2025. "Crime in Mansfield continued to drop this year. Overall serious crime was down about 12% and homicides were down over 40%," she said in the State of the City video shown at the start of the program.

Perry added that the police department reached near full staffing for the first time since the COVID period; she cited a figure close to 91 sworn officers while noting that staffing can fluctuate. She said a new federal grant will add four officers and that restored staffing has allowed the city to reconstitute community-policing positions that had been reduced during lower staffing levels.

Perry credited several recruitment and retention steps, including earlier signing bonuses championed by prior leadership, recent bargaining-unit contracts and across-the-board salary adjustments. She also highlighted non-law-enforcement elements of safety: upgraded ambulance medical equipment, tornado sirens across the city, faster 911 dispatch response (the administration said dispatchers handled more than 19,000 calls with 93% answered in under 10 seconds), and new tools such as a SWAT BearCat and drone capabilities to support response.

The mayor framed safety as a shared responsibility — involving families, faith communities, schools and other partners — and said the administration intends to align staffing and services with future growth.