Bainbridge Public Safety gave their annual presentation to the Bainbridge City council Tuesday, going over what has happened in the last year and demonstrating what the City of Bainbridge can look for from them going forward.

Each of the four divisions, patrol, criminal investigation, fire prevention, education and code enforcement and the office of professional standards and training, gave presentations on what BPS has been involved in.

BPS Chief Eric Miller said presenting this information to the council is beneficial for everyone because it broadens awareness on what BPS really does.

“We’re doing more than just arresting people, writing speeding tickets and putting out fires,” Miller said. “We’re a lot more. We’re a crucial part of the community and we really focus on and work hard on improving the quality of life for every citizen of Bainbridge.”

One area of note during the presentation was the number of traffic accidents that have happened in Bainbridge during the past year. BPS Major Jerry Carter reported to the council from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014, BPS responded to 623 traffic accidents that included private property accidents. Forty-six accidents had injuries.

“That’s an unusually large amount (of accidents) for a community this size,” Miller said. “Especially when most of them happen in really decent weather.”

Miller said they were working on ways to decrease the number of accidents during this next year.

BPS Major Robert Humphrey presented what he and the investigation division has transpired over the past year.

“We pretty much cover everything from misdemeanors to felonies,” Humphrey said, noting he was proud to be part of the organization that tried to keep the community safe.

Major Doyle Welch reviewed the year in the fire prevention division, discussing measures to take when handling fire and displaying what happens when fire isn’t handled properly, including pictures of burned down bedrooms, kitchens and entire homes.

BPS Deputy Director Frank Green spoke about the division he led, the office of professional standards and training, explaining how he was responsible to the research, drafting and implementation of departmental procedures.

“We assure that all the officers are trained every year,” Green said. “All the officers are required to have a total of a week of training every year, just to stay trained with fire and police training. So that’s over 40 hours, and that’s a minimum of what we expect out of every officer, so we stay busy.”

Miller said speaking to the council and updating them on each department’s work helps highlight the great job the BPS staff is doing in Bainbridge.

“It’s important for council to know their public safety agency works extremely hard everyday and are dedicated individuals to the community,” Miller said. “It’s to recognize them for their deeds and going above and beyond the normal, everyday kind of thing.”