BEATRICE – The director of a southeast Nebraska police agency is hoping for a much less eventful year.  Beatrice Police Department Director Jay Murphy gave his first annual report to the mayor and city council, Monday night.


"2023's been...rough. We've lost five officers, our Chief of Police, two communications officers....we had one officer on deployment for eleven months...and we had one officer who was on light duty for several months. Needless to say, it was a struggle for all of our employees and they worked long and extra hours and really stepped up to the plate. I'm really proud of everybody there....to keep the ship afloat."


Murphy, a Lieutenant with over 30 years experience, was named the Director of Beatrice Police following last year’s resignation of Chief John Hickman.
Murphy said the department has hired five new officers and a communications center staffer…with plans to hire two more officers.  The department has 21 police officers of various ranks. There are 13 staffers in the Southeast Communications Dispatch Centers, along with supporting staff in the department. The communications center now provides dispatch service for 23 different agencies, handling over 40,000 calls the past year…up about three-percent from the prior year.


Murphy said there was a big increase in 9-1-1 hang-up calls. "Towards the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, some new technology came out, such as some of the smart watches, some of the Ring doorbells and so forth....that automatically dial 9-1-1- for you. There were a few flaws in that which increased our 9-1-1- hang-up calls."


Police officers handled 11,765 calls for service in 2023….on level with the year before. There were 580 arrests….a slight decline from the prior year. The criminal investigations unit of the department handled 581 calls and assisted with another 455 road patrol calls.


Two canines in the department were used on 20 deployments in 2023. School resource officers at the high school and middle school handled 127 cases…up 20-percent from 2022.  The Crime Victims Coordinator within the department also saw an increase…handling 1,037 assistance cases…..much higher than the 782 the year before.


"This program is very important to our agency as well as our law enforcement agencies in the county...as it takes a large burden off the police officers themselves, keeping victims updated on the status of their cases, and so forth."


On top of regular duties, several officers are involved in community projects and events. Elected officials had high praise for Murphy filling the void in the transition to new leadership. Councilman Terry Doyle said the community is proud of its police force.


"We know that what went on last year and how they stepped up there, so please pass on everybody's well wishes and thank them for the time that they spent doing that."


Mayor Bob Morgan said he appreciates members of the department who stuck with the city through the thick and thin of last year, and said he has 100-percent confidence with Murphy and all of the officers on the force.