Police calls rose to their highest level in at least five years, and traffic accidents were at their lowest level for that period, according to Chief Seth Riewaldt's 2009 report.

Officers handled 15,961 total calls last year. The previous high in the last five years was 15,944 in 2007.

Of those, 1,954 calls were traffic-related, 1,355 were crime-related and12,652 were service-related. Dispatch activity also was at a high of 31,067 calls.

Non-injury traffic crashes amounted to 242 and injury accidents were 27. Only 2006 was lower for injury mishaps -- 23-- in the last five years. The previous five-year low for non-injury accidents was 262 in 2008.

"Between the officers' general increase in traffic enforcement and the Community Enhancement Team's more focused efforts, traffic crashes were reduced by 22 percent since 2007," Riewaldt's said.

In addition to that trend, the chief said he also is proud that officers increased their use of newly available technology.

"Mobile data terminals installed in cruisers has allowed vast amounts of information to be made available to the officers in the field," he explained. "That has enhanced their ability to investigate crimes and serve the public."

Riewaldt said eight of the department's 12 marked cruisers use newer MDTs and four have older models.

"POSSIBILITIES seem endless as to what we could accomplish with this technology, and officers are eager to utilize it," the chief added.

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