06/04/2026
State of the Salem Police Department – 2026
It has been a year since my last “State of the Salem Police” report, and it has been five years since I took the helm at the department. Last year, I was proud to report over twelve months without significant violence in our city, but in a short period after my report, two homeless men were the victims of homicide and there were three incidents of shooting or shots fired on our streets. I hope that it is some consolation that we were able to swiftly arrest the perpetrators in each of these cases. This last year has also been marked by frequent political demonstrations, and I want to thank the people of Salem for recognizing that our police officers’ primary concerns are for their safety and their ability to express themselves.
Our current roster includes 92 sworn officers with two more in the police academy. As is nearly always the case, just as we close in on full staffing, veteran officers retire. Staffing is made more challenging by budgetary realities, but it is clear to me that both the mayor and the city council share my commitment to public safety. The proposed budget for the coming fiscal year expands two civilian roles within the department. With the retirement of Donald Famico in 2025, we were left with only one part-time Animal Control Officer. I believe that Salem needs, at a minimum, both a full-time and a part-time ACO. SPD also employs a part-time Domestic Violence Coordinator as part of our Victim Services Division. I believe that this position is vital to adequately serving DV victims, whose cases need to be handled with utmost sensitivity and patience. We will be expanding this position to full-time.
Haunted Happenings 2025 came with a predictable increase in visitors to Salem. World events always inform our preparations for crowd safety and once again we relied on neighboring police departments and other agencies for help. I want to specifically thank the Boston Police Department and Commissioner Michael Cox for the loan of nearly 1000 pedestrian barriers that we used for the Grand Parade and throughout October. We received considerable positive feedback about the increased safety the barriers provided, particularly for children watching the parade. We also received feedback that the barriers made pedestrian access through the route area difficult before and after the parade. BPD has again offered the use of their barriers this year, as well as some additional vehicle barriers that we can certainly use, but we will take steps to create more gaps in the barriers for travel immediately before and after the parade. I also want to thank Colonel Geoffrey Noble for his partnership and the Massachusetts State Police support throughout our busiest season.
I am happy to report that overall crime in Salem was down approximately 11% in 2025, a number consistent with patterns in our region and throughout the country. Violent crime was down 24% which is more than twice the national reduction. We did observe increases in individual crimes including trespassing, intimidation, and narcotics cases. Calls for help were roughly the same as last year.
This year, we found it necessary to arrest 938 people, a 10% increase over 2024. Of those arrested, approximately 64% were white, 22% were Latino/Latina, 13% were Black, and 1% were Asian. Officers do not ask arrestees for their backgrounds, but I am satisfied that these proportions reflect what was reported by the crime victims and that they do not indicate biased policing.
In 2025, there were no fatal automobile crashes in Salem. We issued 4% more traffic citations than in 2024, but credit should go to Salem’s Transportation Department, its traffic calming measures, and its director, David Kucharsky. Many of these statistics are so low that tracking them year to year doesn’t reveal a trend, but when those statistics represent the loss of life for one of our neighbors, a year with a “zero” is something to be proud of and something for which we will continue to strive.
We have continued to expand our use of alternative energy vehicles and, through our partnership with the City’s Sustainability & Resiliency Department and Director Neal Duffy, we have installed a Level Three charger at the police station. Given the increased cost of fossil fuel, the use of both hybrid and full electric vehicles is prudent. On the other hand, given that we are a coastal city, subject to floods and power outages, maintaining a core of conventional internal combustion engine police cars also seems prudent. After this brutal winter, we added two more hybrid pick-up trucks to our patrol fleet. With the thankfully warmer weather returning now, we look forward to getting back on our bicycles.
Homelessness continues to be a major issue for the police and for other city agencies, as it is in communities throughout the nation. I maintain that it is not a problem that we can arrest our way out of, but it is one in which the police have an important role. With the warmer weather, we will spend more time in targeted locations, including in the woods, doing both outreach and law enforcement.
I am concerned about the adequacy of our property storage at the police station. This year, we will be conducting audits and looking for better policy and accountability for the evidence and other categories of items that come into police possession.
I remain immensely proud of this department and the people who staff it. I also remain immensely proud of the community we serve. One sometimes reads about “community policing” as if it is a certain type of activity that we perform when called upon, like detective work or traffic enforcement, but I believe it is simply who we are. Thank you for your partnership keeping Salem safe and thank you for making me your Police Chief.
Lucas J. Miller
Chief of Police
