DOVER, DE- As Downtown Dover moves toward its 2030 revitalization goals, the police department is looking ahead with a vision for meeting the city's growing demands. Last week, Chief Thomas Johnson presented to City Council, emphasizing what the department needs, the resources it requires, and its top priorities for the years ahead.
On January 22, Chief Thomas Johnson and City Manager Dave Hugg presented the "Vision 2030 of the Dover Police Department" plan to City Council during a special session of the Legislative, Finance and Administration Committee. The presentation outlined current challenges, staffing needs, and the resources required to keep pace with a changing population and ensure public safety as the city grows.
While the session was informational and required no immediate action, officials emphasized that strategic planning is essential to meet the demands of a changing community.
With major changes underway through Downtown Dover Partnerships' transformation projects, Chief Johnson said the department needs to strategically plan and prepare for the years ahead.
"The idea is we want to make sure that we make that date with destiny. Then we have to start thinking about the capacities that we need to build between now and then, so we can deliver on the expectations."
He described the department's workload as increasing in both volume and complexity, as Dover's population grows and shifts to include more younger and older residents, while ongoing city growth adds further demands on officers.
"Our problem continues to get bigger, whether it be the type of problems that we're dealing with or just the volume of the problems that we already know about, we have to manage all of those variables and try to find the right balance of response."
Chief Johnson says the department's strategic vision focuses on strengthening sworn personnel, an area he says has received limited attention in recent years. Sworn personnel in Dover have grown only from 100 in 2020 to 107 in 2025.
In 2023, officers logged 140,907 hours—a workload that would typically require 80 patrol officers. Johnson said the department currently has about 48 patrol officers, a number that has not changed in several years and is insufficient to meet demand.
"If we're going to go with the numbers that we're staring at today, it says there were about 25 police officers short of what we need to be to turn the uniform patrol component into the proactive asset that we would like it to be, because right now, it's currently much more reactive than it is proactive."
Dover City Manager Dave Hugg said staffing—and the way it is currently handled—is one of the biggest challenges, contributing to persistent difficulties maintaining adequate police levels in recent years.
"Incremental additions of positions just doesn't get you anywhere. It doesn't even really keep you up to speed."
As part of the Police Department's Vision 2030 plan, the department hopes to create a five-officer mobile patrol unit dedicated to downtown, an area Hugg says has presented ongoing challenges.
"It's clearly one of our hot spots, Lookerman Street, that we get a lot of complaints about homeless people and crime of various types. So clearly what the results of this are saying to us is that you need to beef up your patrol unit."
Chief Johnson said a dedicated unit could transform Dover’s downtown core into a vibrant hub for businesses and residents, but it must happen in tandem with the city’s revitalization efforts.
"Starting with the downtown, the core of the city is probably wisdom. And these are the things that we're going to have to do. You can't just have a public safety push without the infusion of investment and infrastructure. You have to do both things at the same time."
Hugg acknowledges the request is significant, but says investing in the department now is essential for a safer, stronger city.
"I know you don't want us to raise taxes. I know you don't want us to raise fees, but you want more police protection. You want to be safe. And the only way I can get you there is to follow a plan that over the next five years or so, gets us to a place where we can be responsive and proactive, not reactive."
The department says combining strategic staffing increases with the city's infrastructure and revitalization efforts will position Dover to meet both public safety needs and long-term goals as the city approaches 2030.
The police department's presentation to the council last week comes as the city begins early budget discussions. Leaders say the draft budget should reach council by May, with members having until June 30 to review and approve it.