HOT SPRINGS — Hot Springs Police Chief Billy Hrvatin said all uniformed and civilian positions included in the $19.2 million 2025 police fund budget adopted by the Board of Trustees Hot Springs are about to be filled.

“We could potentially have a full complement, which would be incredible,” he told the Public Service Commission on Wednesday.

The department has struggled to fully staff its uniformed ranks since receiving a federal grant in 2022 that increased the payroll to 115 officers. A dozen of them have remained vacant since winning the U.S. Justice Department grant that covers 75 percent of the salaries of five new officers for three years.

The grant requires the city to fully fund the positions for at least one year after federal funding expires.

Hrvatin said the department offered jobs to eight of nine candidates interviewed during the September trial period. They would begin work Dec. 9 before heading to the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy a few weeks later.

“They just have to take a few more steps,” he said. “If all this works, we will be complete.”

Full staffing was briefly maintained after the commission increased police salaries by 12.5 percent last spring. The new salary structure brought the starting salary above $50,000.

Hrvatin said all 17 police dispatch positions are filled and all 18 police fund budget office positions are in the process of being filled.

According to reports filed by officers last month, crime rates continued to decline. Property crimes were down 15% from the first 10 months of last year, from 3,380 to 2,878. Larceny thefts were down 29%, from 1,511 to 1,075. Introductions break-ins decreased by 38%, from 167 to 104.

Shots fired decreased 31 percent, from 689 to 476. Hrvatin said the total included shots recorded by the acoustic gunshot detection system the department subscribes to and those called in from outside the the coverage area of ​​4 square miles.

Violent crimes fell by 3%, from 2,229 to 2,168, but 35 rapes were reported compared to 24 for the same period last year.

Hrvatin said the department plans to sponsor 75 children for next month’s Shop with a Hot Springs Cop.

“We will spend about $15,000, entirely from donations and grants,” he said.