Randolph Police Services Debate: Randolph Police - Historical Activity Comparison, 1990's and 2023

The following is a comparison of the Randolph Police Department arrest and ticket activity during the 1990's and 2023.

To compare the reported 2023 data to historical data from the nineties, I reviewed the police reports submitted for the town report each year. Copies of each report are included at the end of this post for reference.

During the decade, Chief Mollitor reported the total number of complaints during the year, as well as arrests by category, traffic tickets issued, warnings issued, and auto accidents. Today, the department is reporting activity differently. In any case, there are not nearly as many arrests during the year.

Most important, the number of incidents handled in 2023 is far below the average number of complaints reported by Chief Mollitor in the 1990's. In any case, if incidents and complaints are comparable activities, then it seems the department is not nearly as busy as thirty years ago.

The department reported an average total of 5,282 calls per year during the nineties. This compares to an annual rate of 2,366 incidents for 2023.

Arrests have dropped substantially. As shown above, the average arrests per year in the decade was 272; during the six month period ending December, 2023 the department arrested a total of 25 people, equivalent to 50 people per year, half of which are on arrest warrants. This is 18.38% of the ten year average from thirty years ago.

For traffic tickets and warnings, the statistics are show an increase in tickets in 2023, compared to the department average of 396 traffic tickets per year during the 1990's. During 2023, the department issued 207 traffic tickets in six months, for an annual rate of 414 per year.

There were an additional 32 traffic warnings during the six month period in 2023, but Chief Mollitor did not report warnings so there is no comparison. In any case, demand for traffic enforcement seems greater than thirty years ago.

Randolph Police Department												Historical Activity Comparison
											2023	2023
Year	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	6 mo.	Total (est)
Total Complaints/Calls	4,200	4,063	3,580	4,617	5,333	6,338	6,512	6,167	5,568	6,444	NR	NR
Total Incidents	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	1,183	2,134
Average over 10 years										5,282

Arrests
B & E	24	28	9	8	16	11	5	11	0	0	0	0
DWI	30	25	14	16	25	32	21	11	27	30	0	0
Drugs	2	2	1	5	10	10	3	6	13	15	2	4
Motor Vehicle	86	40	12	19	28	43	36	27	22	25	2	4
Arrest Warrants	28	21	13	13	19	22	13	6	18	22	12	24
Other	150	159	112	228	183	137	132	65	53	53	9	11
Larceny	20	42	29	8	37	37	20	36	21	11	0	2
Sexual & Physical Assault	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	38	24	34	0	5
Bad Checks/Forgeries	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	31	19	24	0	0
Minors w/ Alcohol	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	16	52	25	0	0
Subtotal Arrests	340	317	190	297	318	292	230	247	249	239	25	50
Average Arrests over 10 years										272

Traffic
Traffic Tickets (TT)	527	622	281	297	298	390	324	342	326	345	207	414
Auto Accidents (AA)	31	41	15	27	24	12	14	15	17	15	18	36
Total Warnings											32	64
												0
Subtotal (TT+AA+Warnings)	558	663	296	324	322	402	338	357	343	360	257	514
Average Tickets over 10 years										396

NR = Not Reported