Community Government Police & Fire
Gig Harbor sees overall decrease in crime in 2024, increase in some serious crimes, calls for service
While serious crime within Gig Harbor city limits trended downward overall between 2023 and 2024, some specific crimes — including drug and narcotics violations and rape — increased. Calls for service also increased.
Interim Gig Harbor Police Department Chief Tray Federici broke down the city’s 2024 crime statistics in a presentation to the Gig Harbor City Council at its meeting on Monday, Aug. 11.
Assaults, drug violations
Police responded to five reported rapes in 2024, up from one in 2023. Federici said that it was “important to contextualize” the increase, because “we’re dealing with a really, really small sample size.”
“And I believe in this specific category, two of these incidents were [domestic violence]-related, meaning it was a relative that was involved in the incident,” Federici said. “So I’m not exactly seeing anything that really worries me there.”
Interim Police Chief Tray Federici presented this information to the Gig Harbor City Council on Monday, Aug. 11.
Most sexual assault, particularly in domestic violence situations, is not reported immediately or ever. This is due to several factors, including trauma, fear, shame and secondary victimization. When a survivor does report rape in a domestic violence situation, it likely was not the first time it happened.
In a statement to Gig Harbor Now on Wednesday, Aug. 13, Federici clarified that his comment about domestic violence was not meant to minimize the seriousness of those crimes.
“The Gig Harbor Police Department takes all reports of sexual assault seriously. The statement made during the presentation to the city council on August 11 regarding small sample size was intended solely to provide statistical context, not to minimize the seriousness of these crimes. Each incident, regardless of relationship between victim and suspect, was fully investigated and handled with the highest priority. Survivors are encouraged to report assaults, and we remain committed to providing survivors full support.”
Federici also said drugs and narcotics violations increased from 23 reported cases in 2023 to 49 in 2024 due to the re-criminalization of narcotics violations. He said the same was true of the slight increase of drug equipment violations, from one case in 2023 to four cases in 2024.
Theft declines, but still high
Lt. Tray Federici
In contrast, Federici said that while theft is the most commonly-reported serious crime, the city still saw a decrease in that kind of crime. Retail theft cases decreased from 363 in 2023 to 321 in 2024.
Federici said that some of that decrease could be attributed to the department’s “numerous” retail theft suppression operations, some of which have led to 20 to 30 arrests at any one time over a two-day period.
He also highlighted that calls for service increased just 1% and said the department projected a year-on increase in calls for service to 3% in 2025.
Hiring process
Federici told Gig Harbor Now in July that he is an applicant for GHPD’s permanent chief of police position, following former Chief Kelly Busey’s retirement on June 23.
Earlier in the meeting, City Administrator Katrina Knutson announced that she and Mayor Mary Barber would screen candidates next week and choose three or four to move forward in the selection process.
The successfully screened applicants will have a chance to meet the community, the council, and the police department, she said.
Those who need help following sexual assault can anonymously call, chat online, or text with an advocate at the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN). People in a domestic violence situation can anonymously call, chat online, or text with an advocate at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, or contact one of the organizations Pierce County lists on its website under the Resources section of its Domestic Violence page. The National Domestic Violence Hotline also has a local provider directory.