Princeton Police Report Shows 34% Surge in Calls for Service

Princeton Police reported a sharp rise in demand for public safety services in 2025, with the department handling 28,346 calls for service and documenting 801 traffic collisions as part of an annual report delivered by Princeton Police Chief James Waters. The report, published Feb. 5, 2026, also flagged an increase in hit-and-run incidents without providing a detailed count.

Multi-year figures provided in a public transcript of Chief Waters' remarks show the growth in calls that preceded 2025. "OUR CALLS FOR SERVICE IN 2023 WAS 19,333 2024 WE RAISED THAT UP TO 21,141 CALLS FOR SERVICE." Those totals help explain the department's stated "about 34% year-over-year" increase into 2025. The scale of that rise matters for Collin County residents because more calls can affect patrol coverage, response priorities, and the resources available for community policing.

Chief Waters credited operational changes for faster arrival times in recent years. "OUR AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME IN 2023 WAS SIX MINUTES AND 31 SECONDS." He said the department shortened its response interval the following year, noting "2024, WE WERE ABLE TO DROP THAT DOWN BY" and "SOME HEAT MAPPING AND INTELLIGENCE LED POLICING TO THREE MINUTES AND 41 SECONDS." The transcript indicates those tactics helped speed responses from dispatch to on-scene arrival, though a 2025 average response-time figure was not provided in the materials.

The presentation highlighted program growth and shifting workloads inside the department. Chief Waters described staffing increases in investigations and school safety: "WHENEVER I FIRST TOOK OVER, WE ONLY HAD ROUGHLY ABOUT ONE-AND-A-HALF DETECTIVES. WHENEVER I FIRST TOOK OVER, WE HAVE SIX NOW." He also said SRO staffing rose sharply: "WHENEVER I FIRST TOOK OVER, WE HAD ABOUT TWO SROS, WE HAVE SIX NOW, AS WELL." SRO activity rose alongside staffing, with the transcript stating, "WE WENT FROM 785 CASES LAST YEAR TO 1,714 RESPONDED CASES FOR THE SROS." Paperwork counts also climbed, "THEY WENT FROM 80 REPORTS LAST YEAR TO 143, AND THE UNFORTUNATE PART, SO I DON'T REALLY LIKE SEEING THE ARREST STATUS GO UP IN SRO BECAUSE THAT'S OUR TIME TO USE DIVERSION TACTICS. THAT'S OUR TIME TO DIVERT KIDS AND ALL THIS STUFF."

Investigative workloads expanded as well. "OUR CID CASES, WE INCREASED FROM 1,137, AND THESE ARE ACTIVE WORKABLE CASES TO 1,743, OUR PRIORITY 1 CASES, WHICH IS YOUR TOP TIER. TOP 1 CASES INCREASE ROUGHLY 100, FROM 436-536." Traffic enforcement metrics in the transcript were less clear: "OUR TRAFFIC STOPS HAVE INCREASED 6,721-9260." The department also highlighted targeted commercial motor vehicle enforcement, with Chief Waters relaying, "THEN ALSO, MR. MASHBURN WAS ABLE TO TALK TO ABOUT OUR COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE UNIT" and describing stops of "BIG RIGS, BIG TRUCKS, AND ALL THAT STUFF."

The annual-report summary and the Princetontx New Swagit transcript provide the department's topline statistics and the chief's remarks, but several operational details remain unspecified in the materials provided, including exact hit-and-run counts, the 2025 response-time average, and precise hiring totals for sworn officers. For residents, the immediate implications are concrete: rising call volume is driving heavier investigative and school-related workloads, increasing traffic enforcement activity, and prompting continued recruitment. City leaders and the police department will face choices about staffing, funding, and how to balance enforcement with diversion and prevention strategies as Princeton grows.