Bellmead's crime rate has dropped overall over the past five years, the city's police chief told a town hall this week.
In presenting a five-year crime trends report Tuesday, Chief Shawn Myatt focused on “index crimes,” which are the top eight crimes tracked by the FBI and included in the Department of Defense's Uniform Crime Report. Texas Public Safety. The crimes are murder, rape by force (sexual assault), robbery, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary (theft), auto theft, and arson.
Myatt told the council that Bellmead still has a high crime rate, but its data shows significant improvement.
“Are we going to solve (the crime rate) overnight? No, we're not,” Myatt said. “I'm not going to sugarcoat anything here. Our crime rate still isn't the best, but we're getting it down.”
Myatt, who was sworn in as Bellmead's police chief in July 2022, detailed his findings in a PowerPoint presentation filled with trends in index crime, index crime percentage, police calls to service and much more.
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The report revealed a 31.9% decrease to 339 in index crimes from 2019 to 2023, the five-year stretch of these trends, as well as a 30.7% decrease to 3.2% for it is the percentage of the crime rate. The data also showed police calls fell 14.3 percent to 6,572 and 911 calls fell 3.9 percent to 10,680.
Bellmead's most recent population estimate is 10,589, based on census numbers.
Myatt's last three slides had a few increases that he had to clear up with the board. For example, one chart showed a 16.6% decrease to 1,011 in police reports received, but a 1.97% increase to 674 arrests made in 2023, and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was a factor in that. Myatt said that, along with McLennan County Sheriff's Office jail restrictions in 2022, affected the ability to transport people arrested for misdemeanors.
“Covid affected us in our detentions because our jail simply wouldn't accept less violent charges and let anyone into the jail who could contaminate the entire jail,” Myatt said. “So our arrests went down a little bit over that period of time. And after COVID, you'll see our arrests go back up.”
Another example was when Myatt's theft report indicated an increase in Class C thefts reported from the end of 2022, but this was because a local retailer started processing all Class C thefts regardless of value
Myatt's also discussed an intentional increase in traffic stops, which rose 67.8% to 4,288, as well as how self-initiated activity by police officers rose 4.5% to 7,436. The police chief said the department is adopting a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to drivers on the road without a license or insurance.
Myatt added that 2019 and 2020 included general checks of the area as officer-initiated calls for service, which are now part of routine patrol duties and are no longer tracked in the same way.
That resulted in a four-year average being used for officer-initiated activity due in 2019, which Myatt called an “anomaly.”
After Myatt finished, Council Member Karen Coleman told her how happy she has been with her work since coming to Bellmead from Navasota.
“We talk on a regular basis and every time I call you, you get the job done,” Coleman said. “And I see what you're doing in this town and I really appreciate it.”
Myatt responded and ended his presentation by saying there is a “turn in the air” in Bellmead and it is becoming a safer place to be.
“I talk to a lot of people and a lot of bosses in the area … they're talking about Bellmead,” Myatt said. “They want to know what we're doing here, because we're making a name for ourselves with Bellmead.
“They're asking us, little Bellmead, 'What are you doing?'”
Also at Tuesday's council meeting, City Manager Yousry “Yost” Zakhary received a three-year contract extension. The council's decision was almost unanimous, with only one Council member, Travis Gibson, abstaining from the vote.
Before the vote, Gibson asked for clarity on why the decision had to be made Tuesday evening, as the existing contract would not have expired until October.
Zakhary told the Tribune-Herald he was honored to be extended for another term.
“I am deeply grateful to the City of Bellmead for renewing my (three) year employment contract,” Zakhary said in a statement. “Thank you for trusting our team. I am excited to continue serving our city with dedication and passion.”
The council also heard a budget workshop presentation from Assistant City Manager and CFO Karen Evans, then asked for more details before the next meeting.
Evans and Zakhary said they will offer more specific projections about the fiscal impact of proposals to improve roads and sewer lines.
Gibson said a decision like this can't be rushed because the public deserves clear communication if taxes should be raised.
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