TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Police Chief Craig Kingsbury was reappointed to the top role in the department after a 6-week retirement. He said he had more to give. One thing he wants to achieve before he's done is a real-time information center with tools to help cops track stolen or wanted vehicles
- The first phase of an information center is license plate scanners. These are in use in places like Caldwell, Nampa and Pocatello, and would help police quickly tack stolen or wanted vehicles.
- Twin Falls sees a daily influx of about 45,000 vehicles, and Kingsbury said about 45% of the department's contacts for citations and misdemeanors are with people who do not live in the city.
- The five-year trends for crime in Twin Falls are either level or down some, Kingsbury said. Two violent incidents have tragically claimed the lives of three residents and injured another, however, Kingsbury said Twin Falls is a very safe place to live.
- The Twin Falls Police Department continues to investigate a recent double homicide, and an arrest related to the crime was made on Thursday in Arizona.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
The Twin Falls Police Department is structured to serve its 55,000 residents. But as a hub city, the population doubles each day with an influx of commuters from surrounding areas.
Chief Kingsbury: "A hundred thousand people coming in, about 54 thousand population, About half of our contacts, half of our enforcement opportunities are involving people who don't live here. So we have to be able to respond and police in that kind of environment. With that, we have to be smart about how we police.
Chief Craig Kingsbury was reappointed to lead the twin falls police department on Monday.
After a quick run at retirement... He decided he had more he wanted to give.
One of his goals is to take advantage of new tools and technological advancements.
Chief Kingsbury: "I think it's something that would really benefit our citizens and Help us with not only crime reduction but also apprehension of criminals that may come through town."
The first phase of the information center Kingsbury said would be license plate readers, which would help alert law enforcement to wanted or stolen vehicles. Products Like these are already in use in places like Nampa, Caldwell and Pocatello.
Chief Kingsbury: "Obviously we have two major investigations going on with two separate homicides that resulted in the loss of three of our community members over the last couple of weeks, and perhaps had we had some of that technology it may have aided us in the investigation, we won't know that but that's something in the future that t may help us help our community to stay safe."
He's been chief in Twin Falls since 2016, and in Nampa before that. He's been in Idaho his entire 30-year career
Chief Kingsbury: "This is a very safe community. Idaho is a very safe state. But occasionally things happen."
Two incidents that tragically took the lives of three residents and injured another are on everybody's minds
Chief Kingsbury: “Those things shock the conscience. Those things are not supposed to happen in Twin Falls Idaho. Sometimes they do and when they do we need to be able to react and respond to those, and I think we do that well."
As the investigation into last week" 's double_homicide continues, the chief leads the department in a personal way
Chief Kingsbury: "My heart goes out to the families of the victims of all of these particular incidents. It's really heartbreaking to see that kind of loss in our community. And I don't ever want to live or work in a community where you become immune to that heartbreak."
