Humboldt Police Chief Miller addresses concerns

By APRIL KELLEY

HUMBOLDT - At a recent meeting, the presenter led off with a quote by Dr. Irving Selikoff which said “Statistics are people with the tears wiped away.”

Humboldt Police Chief Jacob Miller knows that saying all too well as a law enforcement officer and head of the Humboldt Police Department (HPD).

Miller addressed the Humboldt City Council on Monday, June 2 at a work session before the regular meeting and imparted statistics, minus the pain behind the numbers.

“It’s been about six months since I was hired and I want to give you guys an update, and the citizens an update on what we have been doing and how we have been doing it and why we are doing it,” Miller said.

Miller introduced his officers who were able to attend the meeting, Dan Cotterill, Scott Burtch and Steven Hale. Amber Williams and Loney Floen were both on duty.

He then went on to explain that since he took over in November of 2024, the HPD has focused proactively on public safety and building community trust.

“Our goal is open communication. I want you to know what we are doing and why because the partnership with the community is key to keeping Humboldt safe,” Miller said.

In the last six months, the police department has responded to 1,344 incidents. The dispatch center has received a total of 2,612 calls, making the number of incoming calls about equal for the city and county.

“This includes everything from 911 emergencies, traffic stops, traffic accidents, suspicious activity reports and public assistance calls,” Miller said.

“Each call represents someone in our community needing help or an officer taking initiative to keep an area safe,” Miller continued.

Miller went on to explain that HPD has been active and responsive with every call logged and accounted for to allow for transparency.

Miller admitted that the most visible activity the officers participate in is traffic enforcement.

In the last six months, 436 traffic stops have happened due to speeding, equipment violations, stop sign violations or suspicions of an impaired driver.

“We target high-risk violations for example, areas with frequent speeders or stop sign violation complaints to prevent accidents before they happen,” Miller said.

The outcomes of these traffic stops, including warnings, citations and arrests, are not what most people think they are.

Of those 436 traffic stops, 381 resulted in warnings, leaving 55 citations in six months.

“Nearly 87% of stops ended in a warning. We are trying to educate over punishing. We are trying to explain the rules of the road rather than enforce,” Miller said

Miller explained that at this time, they are using warnings on minor infractions or for people who do not have a history of citations in order to help the public see they are here and to inform them regarding the rules of the road.

“We are not using traffic stops to generate any sort of revenue or to meet a quota. We don’t have a quota. Our priority is deterrence and voluntary compliance with traffic laws,” Miller explained.

“By being visible and proactive we aim to deter dangerous driving. Even by being visible we can calm traffic,” Miller continued.

Read the full story in this week's issue of the Humboldt Independent!