Bella Vista police report a tough 2020

BELLA VISTA -- The Police Department issued an annual report, highlighting the department's accomplishments, difficulty with the ongoing covid-19 pandemic and crime trends for 2020.

Dealing with covid-19 forced the department to cancel several public outreach events, including the annual night out and senior safety academy, as well as take numerous precautions to keep personnel and residents safe.

The logistics of providing police service safely were difficult, Capt. Tim Cook said.

If anyone got it, officers and staff who work in close proximity inside a tight building could be at very high risk of exposure, he explained.

"How do we keep going for a 24/7 operation?" he said.

Cook said the department adapted to officers staying inside their cars, while dispatch was more or less locked down and anyone who could work from home did.

"That was one of the things that we were able to pride ourselves on," he said.

As the pandemic continued, the department saw two primary shifts in crime -- domestic assaults and drug cases both went up significantly.

Cook said he suspects domestic cases, which increased from 103 cases in 2019 to 467 in 2020, were most likely exacerbated by people spending more time at home.

"It's only human nature when you have people who can't do their norms, you know, and they're just in their houses constantly. People get on each other's nerves," he said.

Drug cases rose less severely, from 389 in 2019 to 457 in 2020.

Cook said he believes that this shift is partially a result of changes in enforcement, including a recently acquired second K9 unit, as well as the pandemic.

As most people stayed home and reduced trips, the majority of people on the road were essential workers mixed with a few people working outside the standard economy to traffic illicit substances.

Additionally, cases opened for the criminal investigative division, or CID, nearly doubled, shooting from 604 in 2019 -- itself a drastic uptick from 2018's 362 cases -- to 1,122.

Cook said this largely reflects an improvement in staffing for the division, which added two new detective positions, bringing it to a level that -- for now -- can most likely be considered adequately staffed.

Having more detectives means the department is better able to fully investigate some smaller pieces of information and perhaps find crime that may have slipped past otherwise, he said.

In one example, he said, the department may execute a search warrant and find some item or another that seems suspicious but isn't relevant to the search otherwise. Adequate staffing means a detective can follow through on this, possibly uncovering stolen goods or other crimes.

"We were able to further investigate cases that we had," he said.

While events had to be canceled, the report did cite some progress.

The department's patrol division saw two promotions and the department recorded 2,961 hours of training for the year.

The department also reportedly acquired new equipment, including laptop computers for patrol vehicles and a pair of remote-controlled explosive ordnance disposal robots.

The SWAT team also expanded to 17 members and continued training and bolstering its equipment.

Cook said he's proud of the department's performance over a tough year and he's glad to live in a great city.

"We continue to have great support for our community," he said. "We're thankful."

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