City officials described changes to public-safety response models and ongoing operational needs for the police department during the state-of-the-city briefing.

The mayor said Conway Police made salary adjustments to retain and recruit officers and highlighted the city’s community crisis response team, which pairs trained mental‑health professionals with dispatch responses so that not every call automatically results in arrest or transport. The mayor reported the team responds to roughly 13–16 calls per day and said first‑year savings from dispatching that team instead of police, fire and Pafford ambulance were “about 1,500,000” (as reported to the mayor).

Police Chief Harris briefed the council on crime statistics and victim services. He said violent crime was down 1% and property crime down 15% in 2024 compared with the prior year; when Chief Harris excluded incidents that occur inside certain mandated‑reporter residential facilities, he said violent crime would appear down more sharply. Chief Harris also reported that since approval of a full‑time victim service coordinator and an additional part‑time position, the department has recorded 947 victim interactions.

Chief Harris described equipment and fleet needs: he said the department’s fleet count was “roughly 140 vehicles” and that 73 of those vehicles had more than 100,000 miles; he noted some vehicles have entered pursuit or crash damage and that vehicle replacement costs have risen. In answer to questions, staff said a fully equipped police vehicle costs about $95,000 (includes computer, camera, printer and setup) compared with roughly $60,000 several years earlier.

Chief Harris also noted the department lacks an onsite shooting range and currently relies on a contractual arrangement with an outside range; if that private option became unavailable, the department would need to identify a replacement.

Officials emphasized several distinctions in the record: the crisis response team is intended to match needs to services, not replace law enforcement in all cases; victim services are proactive outreach based on reports; and reported cost and fleet figures were given by staff as department estimates rather than binding budget allocations.