By Jason Cannon

jcannon@demopolistimes.com

The Demopolis Police Department last week released its annual report, chronicling the department’s activity in 2010.

The number of offenses increased by 128 from 2009 to 2010 while the number of calls increased by 578.

While the call volume for the department increased year over year, the increase was driven by crimes of a non-violent nature.

“Demopolis is lucky. We are lucky,” Demopolis Chief of Police Tommie Reese said. “There’s a lot of people living here who want to live right and do right.”

However, Reese said it would be remiss not to mention the work of his officers.

“I’d like to attribute a lot of it to the increased presence of our officers on the streets.”

The most notable changes were that the city saw no homicide cases in 2010 versus the two worked by DPD in 2009. However, assault cases increased by 33.

Drug possession cases increased by 17 while drug distribution cases decreased by 31.

“You can attribute that to the department working drug cases,” Reese said, noting that officers working to buy narcotics from local dealers were of increasing importance in 2010.

According to the report, 2010 was a better year for Demopolis motorists.

Compared to 2009, 204 fewer speeding tickets were written; 31 fewer drivers were cited for driving with a suspended license; 14 fewer were cited for lack of proper child restraint and 169 fewer motorists were cited for no proof of insurance. The department also issued 420 fewer warning tickets.

In all, 77 more motorists were cited for driving without a license, the most significant increase among traffic offenses. Twenty-four more motorists were cited for Driving Under the Influence from 2009 to 2010.