Buckhannon Police Chief Provides 2022 Annual Report to City Council

February 26, 2023

Mountaineer News

Buckhannon City Council

Buckhannon Police Chief Matthew Gregory during the February 16th City Council meeting.

BUCKHANNON - During the February 16th City Council meeting, Buckhannon Police Chief Matthew Gregory reported various crime statistics from the previous year, and stated that last year's numbers were similar or slightly down from the statistical trend.

Traffic-related accident and injury statistics, as well as the total number of reports taken in 2022 was provided. Watch the brief segment here:

Next, Chief Gregory stated that the top five crimes reported in 2022 had not really changed and were congruent with past statistics involving theft and drug offenses.

In 2022, 248 total misdemeanor and 46 total felony arrests were made. Gregory stated that the misdemeanor arrests were slightly down but on par from what they have seen from the past few years. Felony arrests were down by around 50 percent.

Traffic citations written in 2022 totaled 91; 738 warnings were issued.

Watch Chief Gregory provide the statistical summary from the 2022 Annual Report to Council:

Chief Gregory provided a summary of the report from the Mountain Lakes and Violent Crime Unit. Next year, it will be renamed the Mountain Region Drug and Violent Crime Unit as it merges into a ten-county task force.

The task force report reflects the efforts of not only the Buckhannon Police Department but the totality of participating agencies within the areas it covers (it previously covered a five-county region, now it's ten).

The department is entering its sixth year being part of a task force and has maintained a commitment of one full-time officer throughout that time period. The task force also enjoys the services of Buckhannon's K-9 unit on an as-needed basis.

According to Chief Gregory, the totality of task force efforts has remained consistent.

Gregory then provided a few statistics regarding the number of drugs that were taken off the streets in 2022.

• Fentanyl - 309 grams (Watch Chief Gregory explain the significance of that number in the video segment below.)
  

• Heroin - 1,421.2 grams
  

• Methamphetamines - 672,67 grams
  

• Various Pills - 336 total
  

• Firearms seized - 19 total

Gregory stated that a number of these cases (that have resulted in both state and federal charges) continue to be worked on by task force members.

Watch the full segment here:

The next section of the 2022 Annual Report was a companion piece detailing the deployment summary of Buckhannon's K-9 Unit. The two types of deployment used are drug detection and tracking/apprehension.

Chief Gregory stated that the K-9 was not utilized in any use of force instances, but was used and successful in assisting with tracking and safe apprehensions. Gregory also stated that this K-9 section of the report is strictly for the City of Buckhannon and not part of the task force statistics. Watch the full segment here:

The next section of the report covered correspondence with CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) and the time-sensitive standards the department upholds throughout the year. For more information on how to submit public comments, CLICK HERE.

Watch the full segment here:

Chief Gregory further explained the software/system they use with CALEA (CIMRS - CALEA Information Management & Reporting System). Watch the full segment here:

Councilman Jack Reger asked Chief Gregory about any training the department has undertaken to ensure the safety of officers who may come into contact with fentanyl; Mayor Skinner asked if there was anything out of the ordinary over the course of the past twelve months that stood out to Gregory; City Recorder Randy Sanders asks for clarification on “hit-and-run” in the statistical report. Watch the full segment here:

Councilwoman Pamela Bucklew noted that there was no reported use of tasers in 2022. Gregory stated that there were only 13 instances where use of force was utilized and accredited the department’s training in de-escalation methods to that low percentage. According to Gregory, approximately half of the cases involving the use of force involved drugs, alcohol and/or mental illness. Watch the full segment here:

Councilman David McCauley asked about the department’s simulator that was acquired last fall. Chief Gregory stated that there was so much versatility in its application as a training tool, and touted it as a tremendous asset to the department. Watch Gregory go into detail about how the simulator is being used and the benefits the department has seen thus far (and will continue to see):