BRENHAM PD ANNUAL REPORT SHOWS 13 PERCENT REDUCTION IN CRIME
report to city councilmembers on March 19th,
providing an update on crime statistics and
department operations.
The Brenham Police Department’s annual report to the Brenham City Council last Thursday showed a notable decrease in the city’s crime rate year over year.
Statistics presented by Police Chief Gary Boshears indicated a 13.3 percent drop in the overall crime rate, from 1,397 recorded offenses in 2024 to 1,210 in 2025. Broken down, crimes against society – such as drug, intoxication and weapon offenses – saw a 31.1 percent reduction, while property crimes were down 7.1 percent and violent crimes were down 8.4 percent.
Boshears credited the work of the department’s staff, saying those differences in criminal activity are significant.
The reduction in crime comes as the department’s workload has greatly increased in recent years. Boshears said from 2022 to 2025, the department’s number of calls for service, defined as any activity that takes up a law enforcement resource, grew from 32,849 to 44,712, a jump of 36.1 percent. Even with the increase in responses, he said the department is recording response times that are quicker than industry best practices for all categories of calls for service, from incidents with serious threat of injury to less immediately urgent calls.
Boshears also talked about the rebranding of the Brenham Police Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) to the Drug and Gang Intelligence and Crime Enforcement (DICE) Unit and its work in 2025 to make 48 felony drug arrests. He said he places a strong emphasis on narcotics enforcement because of its connection to other crimes.
Other points of note from the report were the department’s reaccreditation through the Texas Police Chief’s Association; the reactivation last year of the department’s K9 program, funded through citizen donations; the recent implementation of new software solutions to aid in transparent reporting of use of force and vehicle pursuits, as well as managing citizen compliments and complaints; the beginning of a trial Drone as a First Responder program; and the filling of staff vacancies from as many as 10 at one point in 2025 to only two currently.
Boshears closed out his report with updates on community activities and initiatives, including the department’s 100-year anniversary lunch that is planned in partnership with Washington County Cares on May 7th at the Washington County Expo. He also announced plans for the next Coffee with Cops event in May and the return of the Citizens Police Academy, anticipated in the fall.
Click here to view the Brenham Police Department's 2025 annual report.
Click here to view the Brenham Police Department's 2025 racial profiling report.