While service calls are down almost 10%, violent crime increased by 6.69% in 2024 in the City of Jamestown.
The Jamestown Police Department stated in their annual report that there were seven homicides in the city last year, four of which have resulted in the arrest of suspects. The number of shooting investigations also increased, with gunshot complaints calls for service increasing by 25.93% in 2024 compared to 2023 and decreasing by 16.80% compared to the 5-year average.
Despite an increase in violent crime, the number of calls for service the department has responded to has decreased by nearly 10%.
Also, the amount of fentanyl seized by JPD decreased significantly in 2024, by 88% compared with 2023. Police seized 1,090.5 grams of fentanyl last year compared with 9,384 grams in 2023 and 5,552 grams in 2022.
Overdose responses decreased by nearly half compared to the prior year with JPD responding to 126 overdose calls compared with 251 in 2023 and 197 in 2022. The report didn’t give details on how many overdose deaths there were in 2024 despite that information being provided in previous years’ reports.
In 2024, the Domestic Violence Intervention Unit (DVIU) received 1,943 Domestic Violence Incident Reports. While this number is up from 1,916 reports in 2023, the five-year average is down by 3.91%.
2024 Annual Report Jamestown Public Safety
While Jamestown City Council approved JPD hiring five officers in January 2025, the department ended 2024 with just 58 sworn officers, a historic low for sworn personnel. Due to the lower number of officers, the department was forced to remove the DWI Unit as well as the street crime unit. The report message from Police Chief Tim Jackson stated that, “patrol being the backbone of the police department, it is of utmost importance that road patrol is adequately manned to handle the needs of the community on a 24 hour, 365 days a year basis.”
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