Each year the Paducah Police Department compiles an Annual Report summarizing the work accomplished by the department and its specialized units.  Among other things, it provides the public an overview of the department, crime reports, community interactions, and history.  It's a tribute to the men and women of the Paducah Police Department and to the City they serve.

2011 Annual Report >>

2010 Annual Report  >>

Message from Chief James Berry

March 2012

To the Citizens of Paducah,

The Paducah Police Department has enjoyed another successful year in reducing crime.  This reduction is continuing a trend that started several years ago.  I believe it is attributed not only to our community-policing philosophy, but also to our efforts involving intelligence and evidence-based policing, through our use of statistical knowledge gained from CompStat (Computational Statistics), which is viewed on a monthly basis.

The Paducah Police Department has enjoyed tremendous success in policing Paducah from a reactive enforcement point of view.  The department is going to focus a lot on prevention and intervention as part of its new strategies.  We are very proud of the fact that, since 2009, the department has seen almost a 50 percent decrease in the number of juvenile arrests.  From a philosophical point of view, we believe that the best way to reduce crime in a community is to work with children on a proactive basis.  Those critical hours after school between 3-9 p.m. are very important.  A community must keep those children actively engaged in positive after-school programs to prevent them from falling through the cracks and becoming involved in illicit activity.  This year, we are going to participate in a partnership with the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club to develop an after school program at the vacant Armory building.  This will be a boxing program that will also double as a homework club with computers to aid the children in furthering their educational goals.

The Paducah Police Department will also continue to focus on domestic violence in our community.  Domestic violence is one of the major issues every year in Paducah.  Each year, more than 300 reports of domestic violence are taken in Paducah.  To prevent and intervene in this issue, we are developing a Domestic Violence Outreach Team (DVOT).  This team will consist of a police officer and a social worker who will conduct follow-ups on domestic violence cases on a daily basis.  We also recognize that domestic violence is family violence and that it negatively affects children in the home.  This issue hopefully will be addressed by having a multidisciplinary team consisting of representatives in the various disciplines, especially social workers, educators, and court personnel.  We are also looking at the feasibility of getting the clergy involved with intervention efforts.

Finally, we will be investing and looking into better and more efficient technology.  The most important venture for us will be the utilization of computer tablets in our police cars rather than the traditional Mobile Data Terminals.  The tablets are cheaper and have more capabilities than the MDT.  In conjunction with the tablet and the MDT, we will be installing computer air cards in all of our police vehicles.  We are very hopeful that all of the above changes and strategies will be continuous improvement in the development of our city as a safe community for our citizens and the 100,000 visitors who come here on a daily basis.

James O. Berry, Chief