Despite ongoing vacancies within the department, Pearsall Police Chief Daniel Flores says the morale of his department remains high.
During a presentation to councilors on Tuesday, August 8, Flores reviewed crime statistics from June and July.
Records filed at the police station show there were 74 offenses in June and 97 in July; officers wrote 169 incident reports in June and 153 in July; the department issued 148 citations in June and 153 in July; and, in June there were 205 warnings issued while in July the department handed out 227.
“There was a good increase in security checks,” the police chief said. “We went from twenty to seventy. We are also heavily enforcing the no parking areas along IH-35 and Colorado.”
Councilor James Leal quizzed the city’s top law enforcement officer on how many of the crimes involved removing drugs from the streets.
According to the chief, the two-month report showed four arrests for the possession of a controlled substance and one arrest for the possession of marijuana.
“Having more officers, it opens up so many doors,” Flores said of a possible solution to help get drugs off the street. “Right now, we are limited to two officers on patrol during the day.”
The department currently has 14 officers on staff with four vacancies.
“The morale is high in my department, even though we are short-staffed,” the chief said.
