Kingsport Police Department issues Annual Report for 2024

Over the past year, the Kingsport Police Department saw a drop in a number of crimes and incidents, including burglaries, robberies, motor vehicle thefts and vandalism. The department also experienced a notable decline in the number of calls for service when compared to the previous year.

The Kingsport Police Department recently issued its annual report. The 19-page document includes a brief history of the department, an overview of the various divisions and statistics on crime, traffic crashes, arrests, response times and training that occurred during the previous year.

According to the report, over the past year, the KPD saw the number of burglaries decrease by 26%; robberies by 8.6%, motor vehicle thefts by 16%, vandalism by 45% and vehicle collisions by 12%.

Furthermore, over the past 10 years, burglaries are down 52%, robberies 46% and vandalism 37%. While motor vehicle theft increased nearly 39% over the past 10 years, it has decreased by 51% over the past four years.

“With an enhanced enforcement strategy and a proactive approach, a concerted effort was placed on reducing crimes by creating an omni-presence throughout the community,” said Chief Dale Phipps. “The overall efforts of the men and women on the KPD has been substantial and these results do not come easy.”

The Kingsport Police Department responded to 56,800 calls for service during 2024 – a decrease of 7.6% over the previous year’s 61,470 calls for service. Detectives investigated 2,559 cases with a clearance rate of 72%.

Officers responded to 2,123 vehicle collisions in 2024 – a 16.7% decrease from the previous year. Officers also issued 12,393 traffic citations (DUI, parking, speeding, warnings) and reported five traffic fatalities in 2024.

During 2024, the Vice Unit made 183 arrests, seized nearly $2 million worth of illegal narcotics, $10,000 in currency and two vehicles valued at an estimated $25,000.

Dispatchers received more than 175,700 calls during 2024, averaging 481 calls per day. Out of these, 68,384 were 911 calls.