Lonsdale Police respond to 2,019 calls in 2006

The Lonsdale Police Department had its busiest year on record in 2006 as officers received 446 more calls last year than in 2005. Total calls in 2005 were 1,573. In 2006 that total jumped to 2,019.

Lonsdale Police Chief Jason Schmitz attributes the increase in calls to growth in the Lonsdale area and the addition of police officers that have been hired throughout the year.

According to the Pearl Street 9-1-1 Center 2006 Annual Report, Lonsdale Police were called to issue nine arrest warrants throughout the year and assisted other agencies with calls 33 times.

In all, the Pearl Street 9-1-1 Center categorizes calls into 205 classifications. By far the largest category of calls in the report were 483 for traffic stops, followed by 101 animal complaint calls and 96 ordinance violations.

Chief Schmitz explained that the large number of traffic stops reported in Lonsdale is partly due to the differences in how departments report them.

He said the Lonsdale police create an ICR (Incident Complaint Report) each time a vehicle is stopped but other agencies, such as Rice County do not in every case, making Lonsdale's numbers seem high by comparison.

Schmitz updated this annual report from Pearl Street 9-1-1 saying the number of traffic stops since November, 2006 have dropped significantly. When asked why, Chief Schmitz responded, I think people realize we're out there.