By Pat Culverhouse
Numbers tell a story, and Minden Chief of Police Jared McIver believes crime statistics in the city over a three year period show goals set for the department are being achieved.
“These years from 2022 through 2024 show us that our plan has worked,” he said. “We’re fully staffed, morale is high, we have good equipment and the right command staff in the right positions. There’s good leadership in the department as a whole and we have support from the city council and mayor.”
All these factors combine to form what McIver called “a perfect storm.”
“The numbers have exceeded our expectations. They’re a reason to offer praise to all our officers for the job they’ve done and continue to do,” he said.
Statistics show arrests have risen from 821 in 2022 to 1,224 in 2024. Likewise, calls for service have jumped by more than 50 percent from 10,462 in 2022 to 16,791 in 2024. Citations went up from 3,292 in 2022 to 7,734 in 2024.
Calls on thefts and burglaries showed a decline from 406 in 2022 to 369 in 2024.
Over the three-year period, disturbance/assault and battery calls fell from 920 to 708. Theft and burglary calls dropped from 406 in 2022 to 369 in 2024.
“We also saw 112 shots fired responses in 2022 drop to 77 in 2023 and then to 51 in 2024,” McIver said. “Numbers that we wanted to see go up did go up and those that needed to come down did so.”
McIver said the dramatic increase in calls for service can be traced to the inclusion of vehicle stops in the category. And, he added, more stops and citations may be a factor in fewer vehicle crashes and injuries both in the city and on Interstate 20, where Minden’s STEP (Selective Traffic Enforcement Program) is utilized.
Minden’s police department currently shows 31 full-time officers, four reserves, full-time and part-time dispatchers plus administrative assistants to bring the total staff close to 50. The department also has three full-time criminal detectives and two full-time narcotics investigators.
McIver said the department’s administrative staff has worked to place officers in posts where their varied talents are best suited.
“We are fully staffed with officers who are proficient in different areas,” he said. “We have pro-active officers with a variety of skill sets and we believe we put them in the right place to do what they do best. We believe the statistics show this is working.”
McIver said he’s aware there are times when a pro-active approach to law enforcement may result in complaints from the public.
“We always check on any complaint we receive. We want every officer to be professional because we know that perception is reality to someone. But we also understand we’re working with 31 different personalities,” he said. “A professional demeanor is interpreted differently by different officers.”
Armed with statistics showing steady improvement, McIver said he wants to see the department constantly move forward in 2025.
“We want to improve our technology, our communications and training…we want to do more planning given the uncertainty of who’s in our country and the possibilities of what could happen, even in our city,” he said.
“We want to be ever moving forward. If water sits stagnant, everything in it dies. We never want to sit back and say we’ve done it because situations can go the other way,” the Chief said. “We want to continue the principles established over the last couple of years.”
McIver said a major goal for the new year is to prioritize responses in three areas.
“We want to prepare for our response in schools and in businesses, and we want to invite churches to plan their security,” he said. “We invite church security teams to see our plans and customize them to their specific needs. There’s never too much training or planning with so much uncertainty in our country.”
Citing the recent terrorist attack in New Orleans that resulted in multiple deaths, McIver said security in Minden will forever change.
“We’re not only preparing for localized crime but for that which could come from outside,” he said. “A terrorist doesn’t wear a sign, you can’t point to nationality, race or gender. They’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We’re upping our security citywide.”
McIver believes chance favors the prepared mind, and being prepared will extend to parades in the city. He said the New Orleans incident points to the need locally for upgraded barricades and security measures.
“We’ve talked about different barricades and we would love to have concrete ones, but we have too many intersections for those so we’re looking at other options,” he said. “Our goal is that the visibility of law enforcement here will cause a potential threat to go elsewhere.”
Minden’s police department has one advantage many small cities may not enjoy when it comes to handling a potential major threat.
“Our Special Response Team (SRT) gives us a leg up,” McIver said. “They train regularly and are always trying to improve. We want to get more improved equipment, and we’re sending one of our officers to a specialized school. He will come back and teach other team members what he learned there.”
McIver said the SRT gives Minden residents “…a reason to feel better knowing that if anything happens, we have a special team with special equipment that can neutralize a situation much more quickly than if we did not have them.”
Minden residents can also play a big part in the safety of the city, the chief said.
“An ounce of prevention is pound of cure. If people see anything suspicious, they should call us. Let us determine if there’s something to a situation or not, that’s our job. Reporting something small can prevent something big from happening,” the Chief said. “We don’t want people to be paranoid, but we do ask them to be vigilant.”
McIver, who was elected Minden’s chief in 2023, said he has a simple goal for the residents he and his officers have vowed to serve.
“We’re here for the public and we hope everyone can go to bed and sleep well knowing that regardless of what’s going on elsewhere, Minden is constantly prepared,” he said. “People should feel confident calling their police department and knowing something will be done.”
