Des Moines Police share their 2023 emergency calls and crime data

by Junna Base November 5, 2024

The Des Moines Police Department saw a 10% increase in the number of emergency calls in 2023, according to the police’s annual report released Monday.

Last year, police received 166,085 emergency calls, compared to 150,955 the year before. The data shows the number of non-emergency calls increased 5% to 492,827.

Call statistics as well as data on arrests, traffic citations and written warnings were presented at a Des Moines City Council work session Monday morning.

Sergeant. Bryan O’Donnell, who called the 2023 report “more robust” than previous years, said the goal of the annual report is to provide insight into how the department operates and data transparency. The presentation came less than a month after police appointed a new chief, Michael McTaggart.

How many crimes did DMPD solve in 2023?

Des Moines had the most murder cases solved in 2023, with nearly 86% of the 14 reported cases solved. Crime resolution measures how many reported crimes are solved through an arrest or other means.

The agency also says it has resolved 84% of the 162 reported rape cases and nearly 81% of the 1,202 reported aggravated assault cases.

The lowest clearance rates are burglary and larceny/theft, with approximately 23% and 28% of cases cleared, respectively.

How many traffic tickets did the Des Moines police issue in 2023?

Des Moines police officers issued 11,406 tickets — a slight increase from the 10,536 in 2022, but generally on par with the number of tickets issued each year since 2019.

The majority — 7,900 — were given to white drivers, even though data shows black drivers are disproportionately ticketed compared to Des Moines’ population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 2,500 tickets — or about 22% — were handed out to black drivers, who make up nearly 12% of Des Moines’ population.

About 280 were Asian Pacific Islander and about 30 were Native American. About 2,400 of the tickets issued were Hispanic.

About 270 tickets had no race listed for the driver.

How many written warnings did the police issue to drivers in 2023?

Police issued 7,693 warnings to motorists in the first full year the department implemented a policy requiring written rather than verbal warnings.

Police made the change in October 2022 to allow for better data collection about who police stop during traffic stops. The electronic alert program, introduced by former Police Chief Dana Wingert, is a tool that officials say can be used to collect more comprehensive data on traffic violations, particularly on race and ethnicity.

How many arrests did police make in 2023?

Des Moines police made 8,191 arrests in 2023.

Nearly two-thirds of the arrests were white, while blacks accounted for more than the remaining third.

How many calls have the Mobile Crisis Response and CARE teams answered?

The police department’s Mobile Crisis Response and Crisis Advocacy Response Effort (CARE) teams responded to 5,893 calls in 2023, the majority of which – 82% – resulted in people being “stabilized.”

The Mobile Crisis Response Team, which has existed since 2001, provides the Des Moines Police Department with a psychologist who accompanies officers on certain operations. Created in 2022 between Broadlawns Medical and the Police Department, the CARE team allows trained medical professionals to respond to emergency calls without officers.

The CARE team responded to about half of its 1,398 calls without an officer. An additional 34% of calls had no on-scene response, while approximately 17% required a response from a police officer.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

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