KINGSBURG – Criminal activity in Kingsburg decreased over the last two years as the Kingsburg Police Department (KPD) has placed an emphasis on crime prevention.
In his annual crime statistics report to the Kingsburg City Council on Jan. 15, Kingsburg Police Chief Neil Dadian said calls for service placed by residents decreased between 2023 and 2024, while calls for service initiated by officers increased. Dadian said he sees this as a positive, as it means there is less trouble, crime, domestic violence and death overall.
“The police officers are getting out there more and doing what I want them to do, which is getting in front of a crime,” Dadian said. “So I am pretty darn happy overall about the performance over the last couple of years.
KPD recorded 13,744 total calls for service in 2024, with 7,609 calls initiated by a police officer and 6,135 initiated by residents, according to a crime stats report provided to the city council. This is about a 7% change from 2023, when 6,374 calls were initiated by officers and 6,725 were initiated by residents. Total calls for service also substantially increased in 2023 and 2024 compared to previous years. KPD recorded 10,773 calls in 2022, 9,153 in 2021 and 8,599 in 2020.
Part 1 crimes — which are specific violent crimes and property offenses classified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation — also decreased from 2023. KPD recorded 200 Part 1 crimes in 2024 compared to 229 in 2023 and 294 in 2022. Throughout the year, KPD reported one homicide, two rapes, four robberies, 16 aggravated assaults, 42 burglaries, 112 thefts and 23 auto thefts.
Dadian clarified that the singular homicide recorded in 2024 was not technically a murder but was a manslaughter caused by a vehicle collision involving a person driving under the influence. When KPD reports its criminal activity to the state of California, it breaks down deaths by their specific classifications, but federal criminal activity reporting lumps everything into murder, Dadian said.
Criminal activity classified as “other offenses” also decreased in 2024, with 492 total offenses recorded in 2024 compared to 528 in 2023 and 504 in 2022. Offenses included 72 instances of vandalism, 85 simple assault offenses, 30 sex offenses, six cases of child abuse, 54 narcotics violations, 71 other felonies and 174 other misdemeanors.
Arrests made by KPD in 2024 totaled 353, down from 414 in 2023 and up slightly from 310 in 2022. KPD made 112 adult felony arrests and 223 adult misdemeanor arrests, along with 13 juvenile felony arrests and five juvenile misdemeanor arrests.
Traffic citations decreased slightly from 2023, with KPD recording 590 total traffic citations and 56 truck citations along 18th Avenue. KPD issued 676 total traffic citations in 2023 and 106 truck citations along 18th Avenue.
Dadian also told the council about ongoing training and continuing education his officers, detectives and sergeants have engaged in over the last year and new equipment the department has recently acquired. Thanks to continued partnership with the Clovis Police Department, KPD is receiving a 2014 motorcycle with just over 30,000 miles on it that KPD will use for traffic enforcement. Clovis previously donated a 2009 motorcycle that the department has used for training, Dadian said.
“We gave them a great deal of canine training equipment, I want to say about, seven years ago, maybe eight years ago; they’re very thankful for that,” Dadian said of Clovis PD. “They continue to show their thanks by helping us out with a couple of motorcycles, so very happy to have that partnership with them.”
According to Dadian’s report, Kingsburg PD also continues to use Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter to keep residents informed. The Kingsburg PD Facebook page ended 2024 with more than 8,000 followers. KPD’s Instagram following continued its steady growth since the account’s creation in 2021, adding 550 followers over the year to finish with nearly 2,300.
