Seagoville police issued substantially fewer traffic citations during the first 10 months of 2024, but officers made more arrests for driving while intoxicated, according to the Police Department’s October activity report.
Officers issued 1,391 citations from January through October 2024, compared with 1,823 during the same period in 2023. That was a reduction of 432 citations, or approximately 24%.
During those same periods, DWI arrests increased from 17 to 26. The nine additional arrests represented a 53% year-over-year increase.
The figures provide an interesting contrast in the department’s traffic-enforcement activity. However, the report does not explain why citations decreased or whether the department formally redirected officers toward impaired drivers and other serious offenses.
The statistics alone, therefore, do not establish that Seagoville adopted a new enforcement strategy. They show that officers wrote fewer citations overall while making more DWI arrests.
Fewer Citations and Violations
A single citation can contain more than one alleged violation, which is why the department reports citations and violations separately.
The number of violations listed on citations declined from 3,559 through October 2023 to 2,660 during the comparable period in 2024. That was a reduction of 899 violations, or approximately 25%.
The decline was not consistent throughout the year. In October 2024 alone, officers issued 142 citations, compared with 96 in October 2023—an increase of approximately 48%.
Officers also documented 293 violations during October 2024, up from 207 during the same month one year earlier. That represented an increase of approximately 42%.
Those monthly figures show that enforcement activity accelerated in October even though the cumulative January-through-October total remained well below the previous year’s level.
DWI Arrests Increased by Nine
Seagoville police recorded six DWI arrests during October 2024. The department reported no DWI arrests during October 2023.
For the first 10 months of the year, DWI arrests increased from 17 to 26. Although that is a significant percentage increase, the change involved nine additional arrests across the reporting period.
DWI arrests also accounted for a larger share of the department’s reported arrests. Approximately 8.8% of all arrests through October 2024 were classified as DWI arrests, compared with approximately 4.3% during the corresponding period in 2023.
That calculation provides context but should not be interpreted as a conviction rate. An arrest is an allegation, and the monthly police report does not provide information about criminal charges, court dispositions, dismissals, or convictions.
Overall Arrests Declined
The increase in DWI arrests occurred while the department’s overall arrest total declined.
Seagoville police reported 294 total arrests through October 2024, compared with 395 during the first 10 months of 2023. That was a decrease of 101 arrests, or approximately 26%.
Felony arrests declined from 71 to 60, a reduction of 15%. Misdemeanor arrests moved in the opposite direction, increasing from 69 to 96, or approximately 39%.
Public-intoxication arrests increased from seven to nine, while the number of juveniles taken into custody decreased from 17 to 16.
Because the report presents each category separately, the figures do not reveal what circumstances produced the changes or how individual cases may have been classified.
More Crashes Investigated
Police investigated 107 traffic accidents through October 2024, compared with 99 during the same period in 2023—an increase of approximately 8%.
Non-injury accidents increased from 58 to 72, while injury accidents declined from 41 to 33. No fatal accidents were reported during either period.
The report also shows that police calls for service declined approximately 3.2%, from 14,689 through October 2023 to 14,222 through October 2024.
Taken together, the figures present a mixed picture rather than a simple decline in enforcement. Citations, violations, total arrests, and felony arrests decreased, while DWI arrests, misdemeanor arrests, and investigated accidents increased.
The clearest conclusion is that Seagoville officers issued fewer citations but encountered—or identified—more alleged impaired drivers during the first 10 months of 2024. Determining whether that resulted from a deliberate enforcement change would require information beyond the statistics contained in the monthly report.
