Comparison of Contacts and Complaints

Departmental records indicate that in 2005, the department’s officers served 4,129 criminal process papers (warrants, orders for arrest, criminal summonses). Officers made 4,765 arrests (felonies and misdemeanors) and issued 13,098 Arkansas Uniform Citations (tickets for traffic, other misdemeanors and infractions). Officers worked 3,304 traffic accidents on city streets and private property. In all officers responded to 30,024 calls for service.

On comparison, only 68 of those contacts resulted in an officer being forced to use a defensive action to affect the arrest of involuntary commitment. A Defensive Action Report is required by Conway Police Department Operations Police when an officer uses any degree of force, non-lethal weapon, impact weapon, or deadly force is used to affect an arrest or to protect the officer or another person from what the officer reasonably believes to be a threat of injury or death. These reports are reviewed through the chain of command on each incident.

There were no complaints filed for “use of force” out of the aforementioned 17,863 ENFORCEMENT CONTACTS (i.e., the total of arrests and citations issued) in 2005.

NOTE: There were only 17 vehicle pursuits by Conway Police Officers in 2005.

These facts support the findings that the majority of Conway Police Officers perform ethically, professionally, and with restraint in contacts with the public, including those contacts which occurred in difficult or hostile circumstances and dangerous environments.