Law enforcement officials around Monroe County reported generally positive numbers when it comes to department activity throughout the past year, with arrests and other data from 2024 largely remaining static from 2023.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department reported 19,008 calls for service in 2024, up from the 17,261 calls in 2023 that were recorded in a document shared with the Republic-Times.

When it comes to drug arrests made by the department, these numbers were notably down, even in comparison to the last few years.

Controlled substance arrests in 2024 stood at 24 while there were 30 methamphetamine arrests. These respective figures were the year before. The highest figures in recent years were recorded in 2022 with 59 controlled substance and 62 methamphetamine arrests by the department.

Traffic stops totalled 2,645 in 2024 compared to 2,843 in 2023, though the recent peak year for traffic stops was 2021 with 3,390.

The other key statistics recorded by the MCSD  dealt with thefts and burglaries, which showed only a small increase over 2023 with 46 incidents compared to 44.

Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing offered remarks on some of this activity, noting that an increase in service calls has generally been expected as the county’s population has grown over the years.

Rohlfing also spoke to his department’s efforts to focus on any criminal activity at the north end of the county given I-255 and the proximity to St. Louis.

Though thefts and burglaries in Monroe County stayed close to what they were in 2023, Rohlfing also discussed some concerns he had for a potential uptick in such crimes following the establishment of no-cash bail in Illinois in September 2023.

He offered the advice that, should any citizen see such a crime take place, they should simply alert the police rather than intervene and potentially get hurt.

“If you see someone breaking into a car or something, immediately call 911,” Rohlfing said. “Don’t interrupt them. Let law enforcement handle it.”

Rohlfing also mentioned some developments in his department – namely the recent addition of an extra deputy.

He further spoke to the department’s overall goals for service.

“Our main mission has been pretty clear for 11 years,” Rohlfing said. “We just want to provide the highest level of public safety that we can. I think everyone in the public sees that, and they most definitely deserve it.”

Like the wider county, Waterloo criminal activity in 2024 was quite similar to that of 2023.

Calls for service were actually down from 13,884 to 12,213. Waterloo Police Chief Dane Luke said his department tends to average 1,000 calls per month.

Traffic activity was also down, with 1,273 tickets and 2,733 written warnings compared to 1,358 and 3,549 in 2023. Crash reports were also down at 214 compared to 311.

Luke noted that DUIs were also lower than 2023, 17 incidents compared to 30.

Controlled substance arrests did see a notable increase. In 2023, three controlled substance arrests from traffic stops were recorded compared to 15 in 2024.

Also showing an uptick was burglary to motor vehicles, with 16 reports last year up from 11 the year prior – though 24 theft reports were recorded last year compared to 35 in 2023.

Taking particular note of activity on the road, Luke spoke to his department’s efforts.

“Our officers are doing a great job at being observant and making some good stops, and our K9, which was added to patrol in late summer last year, has been instrumental in facilitating criminal arrests from some of these traffics stops,” Luke said.

The story is much the same in Columbia, which recorded 13,476 calls for service last year, up from 13,142 calls in the prior year.

Drug violations in Columbia saw a sharp cut, with 51 arrests in 2023 and 29 violations recorded in 2024.

Traffic arrests were down very slightly with 961 arrests this past year and 977 in 2023.

DUI arrests were unchanged from the two years, both at 38.

Traffic stops were up in 2024 at 3081 compared to 2870 in 2023.

Columbia Police Chief Jason Donjon spoke about a number of aspects of his department’s activity, describing the “three pillars” of police presence, staying tough on crime and providing true service – he noted many calls were simply citizens requesting assistance for various matters.

Donjon also said his department is looking to place greater emphasis on business checks, particularly at night as they place cards at businesses whose security is checked out by officers.

One statistic Donjon addressed was motor vehicle thefts, which were a particularly big problem for the community back in 2021.

Though the department didn’t make a distinction between these and general thefts in its report to the Republic-Times, Donjon did speak rather positively on the trend.

“It’s always a concern, especially being so close to the interstate and stuff,” Donjon said. “Our town’s easy to get in and out of. In the past two years, ’23 and ’24, they’ve gone down, and they’ve trended down.”

As they often are each year, things were particularly quiet for the Village of Valmeyer.

Valmeyer Police Chief Marty Seitz reported 15 theft reports for the year over eight reports in 2023. The village saw no motor vehicle thefts in 2024 and two reports in 2023.

Likewise, drug-related reports were all quiet last year, managing to fall below the one report from the year prior.

The rest of the smattering of statistics were likewise exceptionally quiet, though domestic battery reports stood at eight in 2024 and seven in 2023.

Seitz spoke to the generally quiet criminal activity in the community.

“It’s a good thing that I don’t have anything that’s glaring because we do have a safe town, and I pride myself on that,” Seitz said.

He also noted the strong state of the department as it currently has the number of part-time officers it looks for.

On changes in 2024, Seitz also spoke about the passing of Laurie Brown, Valmeyer’s longtime village clerk, who was a familiar face thanks to the many hats she wore among the residents and organizations around town.

Seitz remarked she was like a second mother to him, and she played a major role in her position as she assisted the police department.

“The loss of Laurie Brown created a void in Valmeyer that will never be filled,” Seitz said. “She meant so much to so many, including myself professionally and personally.”