Columbia police: fewer calls, arrests in 2015, more complaints

On Monday, the Columbia Police Department issued an internal report detailing their response during calls in 2015, including use of force. Totals showed complaints were up across the board, including reports from citizens, which had more than doubled from 2014.

Last year, police got 76,539 calls from the public, which is down from 77,905 in 2014. Officers also made fewer arrests, from 4,704 in 2014 to 4,351 last year. But they drew their weapon 197 times, which is up 31% from 150 times in 2014.

In 2014, the department got 19 complaints from people who claimed police misconduct. By 2015, that had jumped to 41, although 19 of those were later categorized as unfounded. Another 58 investigations were launched after contact from citizens, compared to 48 in 2014.

The agency received 51 internal complaints from within their own department in 2015, up 59% from 32 in 2014.

There were also 77 compliments from the public, which jumped 63% from 47 in 2014.