FAIRMONT–The Fairmont Police Department will release its 2024 annual report this week. The report, compiled by Chief Michael Hunter and staff, details new and departing officers, stats and community involvement. It’s something the department has been putting out annually since 2016.

“All of the reports since then are available for review on our website under ‘helpful resources.’ The 2024 annual report will be joining them this week,” Hunter said.

Of the report, Hunter said, “it gives the community a very transparent look at the services we provide in the community of Fairmont.”

In 2024, the department welcomed three new officers– Shaylynn Anderson, Derek Hughes and Klay Brown.

“The three we hired were all previous interns,” Hunter explained. “They’re all from the area and we’re very proud to have them join our department.”

It also said goodbye to two who retired– Shannon Bass and James Kotewa– who each had 20 plus years with the department.

As part of the report, various community events that the department is involved in are touched on.

“It’s so people know what we’re involved in and can look forward to it next year,” Hunter said.

Some of these events include Fairmont Night Out, Shop with a Cop and Cops and Bobbers. The department is also involved with the Fairmont Area School District through the School Resource Officer, Lily Paine, and Adopt-A-Cop, which is done with first grade classes at Fairmont Elementary School and area private schools.

In 2024 the department continued to update its fleet as four of the five primary patrol squads were transitioned to Dodge Durangos. Hunter said the change was mostly due to availability.

“Back when I started there were a few options for police vehicles and now the majority are SUVs and the switch to Dodge had to do with availability,” he explained.

The department still has a few Ford Explorers in its fleet.

The report also delves into some stats, which Hunter said people are always interested in.

“We had a slight decrease in calls in 2024 of 8.96 percent from 2023,” Hunter said.

He said the decrease in calls was general across all categories.

“In 2024, our crime rate also had a decrease of 13.22 percent from our numbers in 2023 and a significant decrease from our five year comparison. That’s a trend we’re happy to see occurring and we’d like to continue that,” Hunter said.

Some of the most calls have consistently been traffic stops, animal complaints, information calls, civil calls, parking offenses and ordinance violations.

“Our highest call time is between 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. and our lowest call load time is in the early morning hours. This year our highest day for calls was Tuesday, where previously it’s always been Monday,” Hunter said.

Looking forward to the rest of 2025, Hunter said the department is actively recruiting two positions, one to fill an opening and another to fill for an anticipated retirement.

The 2024 annual report was the last that Hunter himself will compile because he, too, plans to retire this year. Currently, he’s looking at a November retirement date. Hunter has been with the department since the 1990s and has served as chief since 2016.

“Next year, hopefully I’ll be in the staff update as one of the retired officers when they do the 2025 report,” Hunter said.

The 2024 annual report can be found at fairmontpolice.org.