City of University Place announcement.
I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season. I wanted to take a moment to share my gratitude for the support so many of you showed your Police Department throughout 2021 and share some insight into what’s to come in 2022.
The officers here in U.P. continued to receive thank you notes and gift bags right up through the holidays. On behalf of the entire department, I want to say thank you to all of those children, adults and businesses that participated in these acts of appreciation and support. I can assure you that they truly do make a difference to our officers. We know we are fortunate to serve in such a great community and these acts were just another example of what makes University Place special.
Although 2021 continued to present some challenges, in U.P our crime stats actually improved after a three-year upward trend. This is significant since our staffing has remained constant, while many jurisdictions in western Washington experienced increased crime rates with declining staffing numbers. Watch for a future Chief’s Corner with a full review of public safety stats and highlights from 2021.
As we look ahead, we are gearing up for additional public safety education programs in 2022. We believe these events provide U.P. citizens with opportunities to stay well-informed on what current public safety challenges we face. They also allow us to gather your input on strategies and desired staffing levels as the city grows. Watch this space for more information in the weeks to come.
Until then, however, as always, please let me know if you have any questions about public safety in U.P.
Stay safe. And Happy 2022.
