AIRWAY HEIGHTS—A city’s rapid growth rate often translates to increased criminal activity. Such is the case in Airway Heights and that has law enforcement seeking creative ways to keep a handle on things.
Police Chief Brad Richmond said that his department is short-staffed and has learned to “do more with less” as crime numbers rise.
“Last year, we had over 17,000 calls for service, which is an all-time high,” Richmond said. “This year, we are already on pace for 20,000 – 21,000 calls.”
The major crimes investigations team is under added pressure, too, the chief said, which makes it challenging when calls need prioritizing.
“Our detectives are overloaded with major crimes investigations, including shootings and other cases in which children are being victimized —we have also seen an increase in domestic violence cases,” Richmond said. “Those take all of our investigative resources and being short-staffed, we simply have to prioritize to make sure victims of major crimes are taken care of and connected with the resources they need.”
According to Richmond, the city is moving in the right direction by implementing the community court program. The program allows for more therapy-based treatments for drug addiction, which the chief thinks is the cause of many property crimes such as car prowling and thefts.
“Addiction certainly drives some of the property crimes we see,” Richmond said. “But incarceration isn’t the only answer here. The courts recently got a grant for community court, so they can better help people and reduce recidivism.”
Richmond said that breaking the cycle of addiction and helping addicts move forward can help them break the cycle of other criminal behaviors. It will also alleviate some of the pressure the correctional facilities may see, as they are overcrowded.
The chief added that regional growth also feeds into the increase in service calls his department receives and that the city is in a high-traffic area.
“We have Highway 2 that runs right through the middle of our town for people that don’t use I-90, and we have all of the new large commercial businesses like Amazon increasing the commercial traffic,” Richmond said.
Airway Heights Fire Chief Mitch Metzger echoed Richmond’s thoughts.
“Recent numbers show 33,000 cars traveling along Highway 2 per day,” Metzger said. “It’s a very high traffic area.”
Funding is a key to unlocking avenues of improved services. Some departments within the city have relied on Mnati Consulting to help bring in grant funds after the city cut departmental requests from its budget at the beginning of 2022.
“We know the city can’t afford it (improved services), and we know the citizens can’t,” Richmond said. “So we are looking at innovative ways to bring funding and facilitate better services for the city.”
Although the increase in call volume is showing an increase in criminal activity, the silver lining, according to Chief Richmond, is that the community members continue to make service calls showing the residents are building and maintaining trust in the police department.
“I think it shows with both police and fire departments we are building trust in the community at that level of service,” Richmond said. “If they are calling us, they must trust the services we provide.”
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