Laserfiche WebLink
assumption that these other police agencies are better managed or operated, but <br />rather are presented to show comparative performance only. <br />The current overall Crime Rate (Reported Index Crimes per 1,000 <br />population) in Paris is higher than in any of the comparison cities of similar size. <br />Violent crime is higher in Greenville but Paris has more property crimes. While <br />these statistics are always somewhat suspect, they are used frequently in <br />comparisons of cities and in the media. Police agencies are required to report <br />the crimes that are reported to them by the public. Failing to do so (or do so <br />accurately) will often cost a Chief his or her job and will bring discredit to the <br />department. However not all crime is reported by citizens. Often, the reporting <br />rate is often dependent on how the citizens perceive the results of reporting. If a <br />department is respected, provides support services for victims, and actually <br />investigates the offense, the more likely a person is to take the time to report an <br />offense. Citizens tend not to report minor offenses when a department is not <br />perceived to be responsive or caring. <br />Paris currently has 63 sworn police officers. This is ten more officers than <br />in any of the comparison cities reviewed. Ten of these officers however are fully <br />funded by outside agencies (school districts) or state grants. These additional <br />officers provide a great benefit to the City at little or no cost. Chief Louis has <br />been instrumental in locating and applying for these grants and should be <br />congratulated for his success. Of the comparison cities (of similar size), <br />Greenville has two School Resource Officers funded at 50 percent. Neither <br />Denison, Greenville, nor Marshall have any grant funded positions. <br />The overall performance of the department both from statistical sources <br />and observation appears excellent. Observation of a number of officer - citizen <br />interactions show both respect of the citizens and a very high level of service <br />expectation. Response time to Priority 1 calls, those with injury to a citizen or <br />potential injury to a citizen such as a robbery in progress, is six minutes. Most <br />Page 6 <br />