Valentine Police Chief Dana Miller provided KVSH News with the department’s annual report for 2023.
Miller states that 2023 has been a challenging year for the department, “…with 2 officer vacancies continuing to go unfilled and Officer Hoefs out on injury leave, the Department has been a department of 3 officers and one support staff.”
At times, assistance was required from the Sheriff’s Office and NSP to handle increased call volumes or incidents where more than 3 officers were needed. At other times, Miller says, the department had to prioritize calls based on the nature of the call.
Officers include Chief Miller, who has served the Valentine Department since 2006; Lt Jamon Slama, since 2004, and officer Brandon Ormesher who has been with the department since 2014.
In 2023 there were a total of 4051 calls for service, 365 of which were sent to the County Attorney, and 86 arrests. While the number of calls tend to decline with inclement weather, the monthly call breakdown for 2023 showed that calls were pretty even for the year.