Pocomoke City Police Chief Arthur “Rudy” Hancock delivered a wide-ranging crime statistics and department update to the Mayor and Council on Monday, Feb. 2, outlining five-year violent crime totals, a recent decline in shots-fired calls, and what he described as major improvements in staffing, equipment, and technology.
Hancock said the Pocomoke City Police Department serves “about 3.9” square miles and a population of approximately 4,300 people, and records “approximately 25,000 calls for service a year,” which he described as averaging 60 calls per day and 34 calls per shift. He said the department’s average response time is “2 minutes and 47 seconds.”
Five-year violent crime totals and shots-fired trend
Hancock told the public he reviewed five years of data and said, “There has not been a homicide in the past five years.” He also stated there were “no rape in five years,” with “two sexual assaults,” “three robberies,” including “two armed robberies,” and “aggravated assaults, 47.”
He said the city had been “plagued” more recently by shots-fired incidents, but emphasized a new stretch without those calls: “In the past 71 days, we’ve had zero calls for shots fired.”
Hancock said that across a nearly five-year period, the department recorded “33” shots-fired incidents he described as “founded,” and “61” shots-fired calls he described as “unfounded.” He also said “four actual people have been hit by gunfire in almost five years.”
When asked about the relationship between shots-fired and assault reporting, Hancock said he attributes “33” of the “47” aggravated assaults to shots-fired incidents, explaining that “first degree assault is anything involving a weapon.”
New systems: shot detection, cameras, and license plate readers
Hancock credited proactive enforcement and new technology with helping reduce shots-fired calls, pointing to a “shot detector system” and expanded camera coverage.
“We’ve seen a 69% decrease overall since the shot detector was installed and completed in October of ’25,” Hancock said.
He also said the city added “26 more citywide camera views” in 2025, plus “4 live LPRs,” which he described as a significant asset.
In one example offered, Hancock described an incident involving an alert for a stolen vehicle and said the system repeatedly notified him as the vehicle moved through town. He said the vehicle was ultimately stopped and the suspect arrested with assistance from Worcester County Sheriff’s Office deputies, and the vehicle was returned to its owner. He said the vehicle had been reported stolen “out of Salisbury.”
Council members also asked whether the LPR units could be moved. Hancock said they are mounted to poles but are “solar powered,” and said he believed they could be relocated if needed.
Department growth and equipment upgrades
Hancock described what he called a major rebuild of the department since he became acting/interim chief in May 2021 and was appointed permanently in August 2021.
“I started off in 2021 with five officers to include myself. We currently have 15,” he said. Hancock said he hired 12 people and that 10 remain, which he described as “an 83% retention.”
He listed a series of upgrades he said were implemented during his tenure, including:
- Moving from zero K-9 units to two
- Establishing the department’s “first ever drug recognition expert”
- Updating an aging vehicle fleet (he said vehicles were “more than 17 years old” when he started)
- Replacing portable and vehicle radios
- Adding a “live scan fingerprint machine”
- New uniforms and equipment, new radars, computers and laptops
- Three bilingual officers (“first time ever we’ve had that”)
- New body cameras, tasers, and other equipment he listed
- New written directives through a Lexipol system (“first time ever”)
- Purchasing a CVSA unit (computer voice stress analysis) and certifying two operators (“first time ever in our department”)
- Launching joint enforcement details and community efforts such as a food and toy drive
Hancock said the department also recovered “more than $30,000 in surplus funds in the past eight months,” exceeded minimum training hours, and is working on “creating a new webpage and a PD app.”
Emotional exchange over public criticism
Near the end of his presentation, Hancock addressed what he said was ongoing criticism of the department on social media by someone in an elected position.
“For the past two and a half to three years I’ve had to sit quietly while somebody constantly goes on social media and has something to say about me or that department and they’re in elected positions and it’s wrong,” Hancock said. “And you owe me and the men and women of that department apology.”
He added, “These are facts right here,” and said his numbers came from monthly UCR reporting generated through the department’s system, stating, “I have no involvement with it on any level.”
Mayor Todd Nock later praised Hancock’s leadership and credited him with rebuilding the department’s staffing, telling the chief, “We watched you build the Pocomoke Police Department back up.”
K-9 “lease program” and long-term costs
During discussion of K-9 expenses, Hancock explained a “lease program” in which the handler owns the dog, rather than the city, and said the city covers training, grooming, medical care, and food.
He contrasted that with a state requirement he said applies when government agencies own retired K-9s. In the meeting, the bill was identified as “Senate Bill 156 in 2021,” and Hancock said the change meant agencies that own K-9s could be responsible for medical costs after retirement.
“By having this lease program… the handler owns the dog,” Hancock said, adding that if a handler moves to another agency, the city could lose the dog, but the city would not carry a long-term financial obligation after the dog’s retirement.
