Columbia City Police Department releases 2007 report
(Talk of the Town photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano) A Columbia City Police car waits in the alley near City Hall Friday afternoon. Chief Michael Petersen just released the department's 2007 statistics.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
Chief Michael Petersen of the Columbia City Police Department released the year-end report compiled by the department on Friday afternoon -- a virtual A to Z listing of everything the local law enforcement officials encounter during the year. 
The most significant increase over the past year, according to Peterson, was the number of traffic stops performed by the department. In all, Columbia City Police logged 3,236 traffic stops in 2007 versus 2,416 in 2006.
According to Peterson's report, there were five hit and run accidents, 403 property damage accidents, 35 accidents with injuries, 13 car versus deer accidents and 24 other vehicle accidents.
Columbia City police did 858 walk-throughs and foot patrols, did 181 vehicle identification number checks and made 168 welfare checks. The department assisted with 126 funeral details and helped 725 people who were locked out. They assisted with the installation of 84 child safety seats.
In 2007, the Columbia City Police Department responded to 33 bank alarms, 205 business alarms, 17 residential alarms and two other alarms.
According to the report, in 2007, the department handled a total of 10,848 calls. Of the total number of calls the department responded to during the year, the largest majority were assists (3,484) and traffic stops (3,236). The remainder of the calls pertained to: alarms (241), index crimes (4), accidents (480), animals (249), child crimes (43), thefts and burglaries (332), drug and alcohol (152), ordinance violations (166) and domestic and battery calls (139)
If you're interested in knowing the specifics of the Columbia City Police Department's report, we'd be happy to send you a complete listing. Simply send us an e-mail at jennifer@talkofthetownwc.com