Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Kimball County Court has increased its traffic and criminal caseloads significantly from 2022 to 2023.
Traffic cases from 2022 to 2023 rose from 645 in 2022 to 941 in 2023, a 32% increase. Agencies responsible for the traffic cases are the Nebraska State Patrol, the Kimball Police Department and the Kimball County Sheriff’s Office.
County Attorney Dave Wilson explained reasons for the increase in cases.
Wilson said that the Nebraska State Patrol does a concentrated patrol on certain areas, and in the Kimball area the patrol focuses on I-80. Thus get a lot more action in terms of traffic arrests.
Yearly criminal cases in the county also were up from 193 in 2022 to 288 last year, a 33% increase.
Wilson attributed the elevated criminal cases in part to being short-staffed in the police department and sheriff’s office in 2022.
He also said new officers in local law enforcement are more proactive and handle things differently.
See Page B6 for report about increases in Kimball County sheriff’s service calls and inmate jail days.