Niceville Police: July Sees Very Low Crime Numbers

In Brief:

Interim Niceville Police Chief Rob Lovering announced his departure as the city finalizes its search for a permanent police chief.
The Niceville Police Department, under Lovering’s leadership, strengthened community relations with events and workshops, while also planning a 5K race fundraiser.
July saw over 2,000 calls for police assistance, 43 accidents, and a decrease in arrests compared to historical data.

Interim Niceville Police Chief Rob Lovering announced to the city council that this would be his last as chief.

The City of Niceville has continued to narrow the search for a permanent replacement for retired Niceville Police Chief David Popwell, who left the office abruptly earlier this year.

The city has continued to narrow the candidate field through advisory committees that have interviewed a list of candidates of unknown length. According to sources who know the situation, the process has come down to the last few candidates. Ultimately, according to City Manager David Deitch, hiring authority is his.

Police Community Activities

Niceville Police have also established a community relations operation under Chief Lovering’s leadership. Newly promoted Captain Joseph Kerns leads the effort for the city’s finest. In July, they taught a women’s self-defense class and bought food from Po’ Folks to feed more than 80 residents and staffers at Twin Cities Pavilion. They also taught the fingerprinting and crime prevention merit badges for local Scouting troops at the Niceville Library’s Merit Badge University on August 10.

Finally, the police announced that they would work toward a 5K race fundraiser in the near future.

Stats for Niceville Crime in July

In July, Niceville Police answered 2,099 calls for help – that continues the negative trend of calls into Niceville Police dispatch that started in January of 2023 when calls reached more than 4,500 that month.

43 accidents occurred inside city limits involving 85 vehicles – and NPD officers wrote 161 traffic tickets. Chief Lovering noted that Sergeant Phil Ritcheson won a national award for number of tickets written for the year as well.

Arrests were very low comapred to historical data in the city. Niceville Police collared six people for misdemeanors and two people for felonies. Police also made three arrests for DUI.