Cadiz City Council opened its new year Tuesday night, and with it came a complete recap of what’s been a much busier 2024 than expected for the Cadiz Police Department.
Chief Tyler Thomas noted that December brought with it eight arrests, 445 calls for service, 44 traffic stops, 16 citations issued, 10 alarm calls answered and seven collisions investigated — two of them involving injury.
All told, though, for the calendar:
+ 399 criminal cases, 31 being juvenile related, were opened
+ 108 people were arrested, or one every 3.3 days
+ CPD responded to 6,974 calls for service, or 19.1 per day
+ 634 traffic stops were made, and of those, 161 citations issued
+ Of 111 vehicle collisions investigated, 15 resulted in injuries for 20 people
+ Five burglaries were investigated within the city
+ 179 complaints were logged for suspicious activity
+ 152 alarm calls were answered
+ 43 shoplifting complaints were filed
+ 140 legal advice complaints were monitored
+ 54 reckless driver complaints were handled
+ And 1,428 business checks were made by officers on regular patrol, nearly four per day
These numbers, Thomas noted, compared favorably to 2023, where they took less than 4,500 calls for service, had to deal with 11 burglaries, managed more than 425 criminal cases and administered fewer than 600 business checks.
All of this occurred with a staff somewhat in flux.
With the close of 2024 and the opening of 2025, of course, does come a new idea from the department.
Thomas and Major Jack Lingenfelter confirmed that a new children’s program is currently in the works, and it could be implemented before the beginning of Summer Break 2025.
Its framework is unfinished at this point, but the foundation is there. A series of finely-crafted poker chips — emblazoned with officer and staff pictures, as well as department contact information — have been signed, sealed and delivered to Cadiz.
The hope, they said, is to find ways — perhaps through community events, good deeds and volunteerism — to distribute these collectible tokens to youngsters who are taking part in their surroundings.
Lingenfelter said the concept is two-fold: it creates a safe, positive and helpful interaction between cop and child, and it reinforces the idea that police should serve its community in other ways besides fighting crime.
More details on this incentive will be forthcoming, but Thomas and Lingenfelter said they want this to turn into a contest involving multiple parts of Cadiz and Trigg County. As officers fan out through the community at different events, the goal would be for students to collect as many as possible through participation, before turning in a stack for a potentially hefty prize like a bicycle, an iPad, an X-Box, or some other similar childhood surprise.
Thomas said he and Lingenfelter picked up the idea at a training in Clarksville, where an unnamed officer had taken upon themselves to order poker chips and turn them into business cards and incentives, in hopes of creating better rapport with adults and kids.
Those interested to collaborate with the up-and-coming program should contact Thomas by phone: (270) 522-8369.
