PARSONS, Kans. — The latest numbers show the crime rate in Parsons is the lowest its been since 2003. That’s according to the 2021 annual report from the Parsons Police Department.

The department responded to 95 fewer calls in 2021 and saw all aspects of crime go down except car thefts. Despite the staff shortage the police department faces, officers, have been able to partner with the community to lower the crime rate. With their “See it, Hear it, Report it” campaign, overall calls have gone up by nearly 7,000.

Chief of Police Robert Spinks said, “Community involvement has been critical, and it’s truly a partnership between the department and residents.”

“Hat really goes off to our staff. Yeah, unfortunately, the past several months we’ve had officers working six days a week, with one day off, 12-hour shifts, using all our resources. While at the same time we’ve been actively engaged in recruiting and getting people through a hiring process,” said Spinks.

Spinks says the hiring process for officers is not a quick turnaround. It takes about a year between police training, to field training before they can start.