The City of Jamestown administration is challenging claims about safety made by the Police Department’s union.
Kendall Club PBA recently submitted a letter to the Post-Journal and made posts on social media that the city calls “misleading.”
It should be noted that the City and Kendall Club PBA are currently involved in contract negotiations after the Police Union’s contract expired at the end of 2024.
In the letters printed by the Post-Journal, the union writes, “Recent crime statistics demonstrate that the City of Jamestown is not safe contrary to what has been portrayed in the 2025 State of the City report as it pertains to public safety. In fact, Jamestown has become a dangerous city.
These statistics are alarming for a city the size of Jamestown and it reinforces that being a police officer here is a very dangerous job.”
The City responded by saying, “While any loss of life is tragic, crime trends must be examined comprehensively. A selective presentation of statistics without context creates unnecessary fear and fails to reflect the overall safety of our community.”
There were seven homicides reported in 2024 that the administration say were “isolated incidents rather than part of a broad crime wave,” noting that two were child homicides, three were targeted incidents, one stemmed from a confrontation, and one involved an unintended victim.
City officials call the early surge in gun violence in 2024 “abnormal” and that no shootings have been reported thus far in 2025. The City goes on to say that contrary to claims by the Police Union, crime in Jamestown has been steadily decreasing over the past 15 years based on data from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and the 2010–2024 Annual Public Safety Reports.
The City said they have advocated for funding for Crisis Stabilization Centers and intervention programs that provide individuals in crisis with support before they encounter the criminal justice system. They also noted that municipal governments do not control state policies on bail reform, sentencing guidelines, or mental health funding—all of which directly impact local crime rates.
When it comes to staffing, the City also noted that Jamestown’s population has declined by 10%, from 31,079 in 2010 to 27,965 in 2025. Despite this decline, police staffing has increased from 60 officers in 2010 to 62 in 2025. As a result, Jamestown now has the highest officer-to-resident ratio in 15 years.
The City said that in 2003, agreements between the Kendall Club PBA and the City of Jamestown set police staffing at 65 officers, based on a population of 31,730 residents, “Applying the same 2003 methodology today—adjusted for a 12% population decrease—staffing would be set at 57 officers. However, the city currently employs 62 officers, exceeding the proportional level outlined in the original agreement.”
The City that while it had tried to hire four additional officers using American Rescue Plan Act funds, the positions remained unfilled due to recruitment challenges. Prior to the recent hiring of five new officers this year, law enforcement agencies nationwide, including Jamestown, faced staffing shortages as interest in policing has declined, resulting in significantly fewer applicants.
The Kendall Club PBA posted on Facebook that, “The hiring of five new officers falls short of meeting the minimum staffing level of 65 officers. The city needs to take a hard look at recruitment, retention, and morale, and figure out how to make the Jamestown Police Department a highly sought-after place to work again.”
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