Just the Stats on RPD
Amid calls for defunding or restructuring police departments around the country, as well as renewed calls for shared services as cost-savings measures among municipalities, we thought a statistical review of the Rye Police Department’s daily activities, might be informative.
In 2019, Rye Police received 24,839 calls for service, according to the City’s Annual Report. Over half the calls were in just four categories: 10,163 property checks, 1,016 medical emergencies, 816 assist citizens, and 727 burglar alarms.
RPD reported giving out 4,001 tickets for moving traffic violations, including: 772 for disobeying signs/devices, 762 vehicular equipment issues, 280 unlicensed operator, 221 speeding violations, and an eye-catching 170 for driving while operating a cell phone.
Parking Enforcement Officers and Police Officers wrote 2,683 summonses for parking violations, down from 3,028 in 2018.
Despite daily reports of the use of leaf blowers, which are banned from May through September, only a total of 57 summonses were issued, a little over one-per-week. Warnings are often given out for leaf blower use, but even more of those reports are categorized as “unfounded” or gone on arrival. Other noise complaints, a loud party, for example, are often resolved without need for a recorded summons.
Arrests totaled 119, down from 174 the previous year, and there were 447 investigations opened, also down about ten percent, from 495.