CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) — Cape Coral police say officers are responding to significantly more calls than they were a year ago.
The Cape Coral Police Department showing patrol calls for service increased from 23,910 in the second quarter of 2025 to 42,017 during the second quarter of 2026 — a 75.7% increase. , the number of authorized patrol officers has remained the same during that time.
Police Chief Anthony Sizemore said even he was surprised by the magnitude of the increase.
“You develop an intuition as a police officer… but what these numbers did is validate everybody’s intuition,” Sizemore said.
CREDIT: Cape Coral Police Department
Sizemore said the increase reflects the demands of one of Florida’s fastest-growing cities.
“We are the seventh-largest city in the state and third biggest state in the country, and with that comes an increased workload, and we’re actually seeing that,” he said.
While “calls for service” include everything from traffic crashes and theft reports to domestic disturbances and homicides, Sizemore said the department has also seen an increase in its most serious incidents.
According to the chief, the department’s Priority 1 and Priority 2 calls — the highest-priority emergencies, including robberies, disturbances involving weapons, homicides and other life-threatening incidents — have increased 34% over the past three years.
Staffing keeping pace with growth
Although the department’s Facebook graphic highlights that staffing has remained unchanged.
WINK Investigates Reporter asked the Chief if he needs more staff.
“We do, we do, and I want to caution people to think that we are understaffed, or we have allocated positions that are just not filled,” Sizemore said. “This is not a recruiting and retention issue. We are full. We need to grow. We need more people on deck.”
The department is currently authorized for about 335 sworn officers, according to Sizemore. He said the agency has only single-digit vacancies and enough applicants in the hiring process to fill those openings.
Instead, he said the department needs additional authorized positions as Cape Coral continues to grow.
As part of the upcoming city budget process, the police department is requesting funding for 25 additional officers, though Sizemore acknowledged the long-term need is greater.
“We actually need more than 25, but in the budgetary process… you can’t get everybody that you need,” he said.
Response times remain on target
Despite the increase in workload, Sizemore said recent changes to how officers are deployed have helped improve response times for the department’s highest-priority calls.
He said the department reorganized patrol operations into a precinct model and strategically reassigned resources to improve efficiency. Those changes, he said, have allowed the department to continue meeting its response-time goals.
Still, he warned that maintaining those response times will depend on whether staffing keeps pace with Cape Coral’s continued growth.
“If we don’t keep pace, I would use the word concern about response times,” Sizemore said.
Sizemore said the department has already begun planning years into the future through what it calls Project 35, a long-range strategy that outlines staffing, infrastructure, equipment and training needs through the year 2035. The goal, he said, is to ensure the department grows alongside the city while maintaining the level of service residents expect.
“We are aware of the needs and we are diligently working to maintain,” Sizemore said. “I think the importance for me is to maintain the quality control.”