The Wilton Police Department (WPD) has released its 2024 Annual Report, a detailed accounting of the latest information and trends on all aspects of the department’s work, ranging from the number of calls for service and motor vehicle accidents to serious crimes and arrests in Wilton.
GOOD Morning Wilton reviewed the report and followed up with Deputy Chief Rob Cipolla on several topics, including one of the report’s key measures: the number of calls for service (CFS), which saw a significant year-over-year increase. Cipolla’s insights reported in this story reveal why that number is not a key cause for concern — at least as of now — and what the department’s bigger concern is at present.
Highlights
In a statement posted on social media, WPD touted the annual report for helping to build trust, provide transparency, and ultimately lead to a safer community:
“The Wilton Police Department is proud to announce the release of its 2024 Annual Report, showcasing our unwavering commitment to transparency and accountability in law enforcement. This comprehensive report reflects our ongoing efforts to build trust within the community while providing a detailed overview of our operational activities. We believe that an informed community is a safer community. By releasing this report, we are not only holding ourselves accountable for our actions but also reinforcing our commitment to work collaboratively with our residents to ensure their safety and well-being.”
The report’s executive summary highlighted the following:
“While there was an increase in total calls for service, the amount of reported criminal offenses dropped considerably… Additionally, the total amount of car crashes only saw a slight year-over-year increase. Most importantly there were no fatalities on Wilton roads in 2024, a testament to our officers’ proactive and strategic traffic enforcement efforts.”
Among the data in the report’s highlights:
- A total of 15,2937 calls for service — a 7% increase from the previous year
- The highest number of DUI arrests since 2016
- 23 motor vehicle thefts — the highest number in the past 10 years (the previous high was 18 thefts in 2018)
- 22% drop in “Class A” offenses (serious offenses such as homicide, rape, aggravated assault, robbery and other theft) driven by a 26% drop in property crimes
- 90 domestic incidents, with 39 qualifying as “family violence” incidents
- 12 internal affairs complaints — though none were related to bias profiling or excessive use of force
Calls for Service (CFS)
In 2024 the department logged a total of 15,293 CFS, a 7% year-over-year increase. CFS have steadily increased each year since 2021.
GMW took a longer view, comparing the recent trend to the 2015-2019 period, which showed the CFS rate had been declining just before the pandemic lull. However, even with increases over the last three years, the 2024 call volume remains lower than it was in 2016, 2017 (when it peaked) and 2018.
For that reason, Deputy Chief Cipolla told GMW the total call volume for 2024 should not be cause for concern right now.
“I don’t see it as concerning,” Cipolla said. ” I mean, it’s been steadily increasing since coming out of the pandemic, [but] prior to pandemic, we had some years where we had upwards of 16,000 calls for service.”
Cipolla described the call volume as manageable (albeit with overtime required) but still “something to keep an eye on.”
“It’s definitely something that we will monitor as the growth of the town continues… is it affecting our services and resources? And is there a need on our end to adjust the manner in which we provide services, or do we need more resources?” he said. “But that’s not a conversation that we’re having at this point in time.”
Instead, Cipolla said the more urgent priority is to fill open positions in the department — a challenge not only in Wilton but other municipalities throughout the region. Currently, Wilton has two open positions for officers, and an expected retirement could raise the number to three.
“At this time, our focus is getting to full staff,” Cipolla said. “It’s been quite a while since we’ve been there. We’ve been managing all along, and it’s a testament to our officers and the hard work that they do. Even being short-staffed, we’re still able to provide our public safety services to the town of Wilton in what I believe to be a very effective, efficient manner.”
Further tempering concern about the 7% year-over-year increase in CFS, Cipolla says the very latest 2025 year-to-date numbers have not continued to increase. In fact, CFS have been running 2% lower than last year.
Still, Cipolla noted the CFS numbers can jump at any time, such as with a significant storm or other large-scale event that could push the annual number higher once again.
CFS: What Drove the 2024 Increase?
There are two types of CFS: citizen-generated (such as 911 calls) and officer-initiated (the latter can include actions such as traffic stops, deterrent runs, and other actions taken by officers, as well as functions like permitting, child seat installations, site surveys, or crime prevention efforts).
In 2024, 6,730 of the 15,293 total CFS were calls from the public. The majority were officer-initiated CFS.
GMW‘s review of previous annual reports showed citizen-generated CFS actually went down in 2024. Cipolla confirmed the 7% increase in total CFS was driven by officer-initiated CFS.
Cipolla said the 2024 increase was primarily attributed to a particular crime pattern involving commercial burglaries, which targeted specific types of locations (not just in Wilton, but throughout the area). More frequent deterrent runs and multiple crimes committed resulted in much of Wilton’s CFS increase during 2024.
As for citizen-generated CFS, the highest numbers in 2024 were seen for emergency medical response calls, to which WPD routinely gets dispatched (often but not always with the Wilton Fire Department as well). Motor vehicle accidents also factor prominently.
Motor Vehicle Crashes
In 2024, 402 motor vehicle crashes were reported on Wilton roadways. Though the number edged slightly higher than the previous year, a longterm view puts the number in a more favorable light. Before the pandemic, it was not unusual to have more than 500 accidents per year.
The numbers declined during the pandemic, with less motor vehicle volume on the roadways, and have yet to return to previous highs. The 402 crashes in 2024 were 10% below the 10-year average of 447.
Of the 402 accidents last year, 11 were found to be related to alcohol or drugs.
Motor Vehicle Enforcement
Of the vehicle operators stopped by Wilton officers in 2024, roughly 16% were residents of Wilton and 90% were residents of the state of Connecticut.
Bias profiling is contrary to WPD policy. In compliance with Connecticut’s Alvin W. Penn Racial Profiling Prohibition Act, Wilton police officers are required to collect data from all traffic stops including the drivers’ race, ethnicity, age and gender; whether a warning, citation or summons was issued; whether a search was conducted; and whether an arrest was made
Of the 4,424 traffic stops conducted Wilton in 2024, 57% were White non-Hispanic operators while 43% were minority groups including Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan Native or Middle Eastern. Wilton’s numbers were consistent with available statewide data (from 2022) which show 41% of traffic stops are non-White drivers.
Looking specifically at Black and Hispanic drivers, Wilton’s numbers vary slightly from the statewide traffic stops. In 2024, 12% of Wilton’s stops were of Black drivers and 25% were Hispanic drivers, versus 19% and 18%, respectively, statewide.
The Department received no complaints of bias profiling due to race or ethnicity in 2024.
Crime
Overall, Group A offenses — serious crimes such as homicide, rape, aggravated assault, robbery and other theft — dropped 22% versus the previous year, driven by significantly fewer reports of identity theft. Mail theft and the related check fraud that was prevalent in recent years was also reduced in 2024.
Perhaps Wilton residents have become savvier about avoiding scams — and benefited from WPD’s awareness and education programs — but Cipolla pointed out the nature of fraudulent activities is constantly evolving and remains a high risk. Despite the lower numbers, the 2024 report notes that larceny/theft and fraud-related crimes still account for the lion’s share of property crime reports in Wilton.
Cipolla also noted that while a common perception might be that scammers target seniors, Wilton youth are frequently falling prey.
“Some of the recent data has shown that younger people are just as vulnerable, and in particular, with how social media is being used to facilitate these crimes,” he said.
The annual report also notes that auto thefts continue to be a problematic trend, with 23 completed motor vehicle thefts in 2024 — eight more than the previous year and the highest number in more than 10 years. The previous high was 18 thefts in 2018.
Domestic Violence
Last year, Wilton police responded to 90 domestic incidents, including 39 with allegations of “family violence,” defined as “physical harm, bodily injury or assault, or
an act of threatened violence that constitutes fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury or assault, including, but not limited to, stalking or a pattern of threatening, between family or household members.” (It includes some dating relationships.)
Of the family violence incidents, 33 resulted in an arrest: 14 of the arrests were women; 19 were men; and six of the 33 arrests involved dating relationships.
The 33 arrests represented 22% of the total annual arrests in Wilton.
While many of the arrests were for breach of peace/disorderly conduct, several were for assault, violation of a court order or stalking.
Pursuits
In 2024 Wilton police officers engaged in six pursuits — two fewer than the previous year. Each pursuit was reviewed by the lieutenant during the shift when the pursuit took place. All 2024 pursuits were found to be in compliance with the state’s Model Pursuit Policy.
Use of Force
While the 2024 report notes that 97% of all arrests by officers involved no level of force, there were nine incidents that did result in use of force (UOF) by an officer. That number was unchanged year-over-year.
Five of the nine incidents involved multiple officers using force. Three officers were involved in more than one incident, but none of them was involved with more than two incidents.
The department did not receive any complaints about excessive force, and a review found no “patterns or trends that would indicate policy, training, tactics or officer safety concern.”
Use of force was reported in officer response to two crisis interventions, two stolen motor vehicles, two suspicious persons, one search warrant, one weapon violation, and one pursuit.
Internal Affairs
WPD investigates all complaints against its officers, whether brought by a member of the public or within the department.
As noted in the annual report, “The integrity of the Department is of paramount concern. It is also a paramount concern to protect officers against false or malicious complaints. The purpose of the Internal Affairs unit is to maintain the integrity of the Department by the use of an internal system in which objectivity, fairness, and justice are ensured by an impartial investigation.”
There were 12 complaints brought for Internal Affairs investigation in 2024 — five fewer than the prior year.
After investigation, 10 of the complaints were deemed to be “unfounded”, while 2 were sustained. Responding to an inquiry from GMW, Cipolla said the 2 sustained complaints were in the categories of Standards of Conduct, for which the officer received a documented warning, and Lack of Productivity, for which the officer received a suspension.
Notable Arrests
Looking for details on arrests made by the department in 2024? The annual report discusses several notable arrests that were made, including for commercial burglaries; a recovered stolen motor vehicle; possession of child sexual abuse material; road rage; embezzlement; mail theft, check fraud and identity theft; assault and other criminal acts. The report is posted on the Town website.
[Editor’s note: this story was updated after GMW received WPD’s response to our inquiry about the outcome of the 2 complaints sustained after Internal Affairs investigation.]