Salinas City Council honors its fire and police department achievements for 2025.

The Salinas City Council took a moment to honor national Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, in addition to praising National Emergency Medical Services week and all who serve the City of Salinas at a City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 12. 

Both the city’s fire department and police department were lauded for their work after presenting their 2025 annual report. 

Fire Chief Samuel Klemek also highlighted the average response times success rates for both the fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls in Salinas.

“Our success rates in Salinas are higher than the national average,” Klemek said. 

Still, Klemek pointed out traffic congestion may affect response times whether it's from bumpy roads, roundabouts, speed bumps, etc. The city council shared they will look into how to improve roads with the City Engineer. 

There are a total of six fire stations throughout Salinas. Last year, its busiest fire station at 216 West Alisal St. had some renovations done including a bigger kitchen, new floors, new painting, new bathrooms and a new generator that makes less sound for the neighbors. 

The Fire Department includes 98 firefighters, two of whom are women. The crews responded to almost 18,000 emergencies last year.

The Fire Department training division also had some great achievements in 2025, adding nine new cadets in its program, growing from 11 cadets in 2024 to 20. 

“We are starting our recruitment process in high school because too many of our fine youth are going up north or down south and we want to hold on to the talent that we have in Salinas,” said fire prevention chief Chris Knapp. “We want to recruit new firefighters at a really young age.” 

Meanwhile in crime, the Salinas Police Department made almost 3,000 arrests in 2025, with an almost 30-percent increase from the year before. The department has just over 160 sworn officers and 15 professional staff. 

In 2025, they reduced officer vacancies from 22 down to 14 and also had an almost 12-percent increase in sworn officers.

The department solved six out of seven homicides last year (with the seventh under investigation), plus resolved 266 investigation cases out of a total of 326 cases. The Violence Suppression Task Force division, which focuses on gang activity, made 70 felony arrests, 28 misdemeanor arrests and checked in a total of 268 firearms into evidence.