DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Dubuque Police Department has released its March 2026 Monthly Activity Report, revealing a sharp increase in overall police activity compared to February. Officers responded to 3,049 calls for service last month — a jump of 484 calls, or about 18.9 percent, from February’s total of 2,565. The report highlights continued proactive enforcement efforts, with notable rises in citations, written warnings, warrants served, and OWI arrests, even as the city transitions from winter into spring.

The data, presented in the department’s standard format and accompanied by the official Dubuque Police shield, offers a transparent snapshot of law enforcement operations in a community of roughly 60,000 residents. All figures come directly from the department’s compiled statistics, which track a broad range of public safety interactions.

March 2026 Key Statistics at a Glance

•  Calls for Service: 3,049

•  Arrests: 231 (includes both custodial jail bookings and non-custodial bookings)

•  Warrants Served: 86

•  Citations: 569

•  Written Warnings: 247

•  OWI Arrests: 30

A standard departmental disclaimer accompanies every report: “Arrests include both custodial and non-custodial bookings. This information does not infer or imply guilt for any person arrested or cited.”

Direct Month-to-Month Comparison: March vs. February 2026

February’s numbers (released alongside January’s in early March) showed a modest seasonal dip from January’s 2,753 calls for service. March reversed that trend decisively. Here is a side-by-side breakdown with percentage changes calculated for clarity:

Calls for Service Breakdown and Context

Calls for service represent the broadest measure of police workload. They encompass 911 emergency dispatches, non-emergency requests, traffic accidents, suspicious activity reports, domestic incidents, welfare checks, and proactive patrols initiated by officers. The 18.9% jump from February to March is the largest month-to-month increase seen in the early 2026 data released so far.

Possible contributing factors include:

•  Seasonal and weather shifts: February’s colder, shorter days and potential snow/ice events often suppress outdoor activity and reporting. March brought longer daylight, thawing conditions, and the first hints of spring — typically leading to more pedestrian and vehicle traffic, public gatherings, and outdoor-related complaints.

•  Community events: March includes St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), which frequently generates additional calls related to parades, celebrations, traffic, and alcohol-related incidents in a city with a strong Irish heritage and downtown entertainment district.

•  Broader trends: Improved weather can also mean more minor property crimes, neighbor disputes, or traffic stops being reported rather than going unnoticed during deep winter.

The department has not yet issued official commentary attributing the spike to any single cause, but historical patterns in mid-sized Midwest cities show March often marks the beginning of an upward curve in calls that continues through summer.

Enforcement Activity: Proactive Focus Evident

While calls rose sharply, enforcement outputs increased even more dramatically in several categories, suggesting officers capitalized on the uptick in activity:

•  Warrants Served (+41%): The jump to 86 served indicates targeted warrant sweeps or more opportunities to locate individuals during routine responses. This is a key performance indicator for clearing backlogs and enhancing community safety.

•  Citations and Written Warnings (combined +136 citations and +109 warnings): The nearly 31% rise in formal citations and 79% surge in warnings point to intensified traffic enforcement and officer discretion on minor violations. Warnings allow flexibility — officers can educate rather than penalize for low-level issues like equipment defects or minor speeding.

•  OWI Arrests (+50%): The increase to 30 impaired-driving arrests aligns with seasonal patterns. March often sees heightened bar and restaurant traffic, and departments routinely ramp up sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols around holidays. February’s 20 OWIs were already down from January’s 23, making March’s rebound noteworthy.

•  Arrests (+2.2%): The modest overall increase to 231 (from 226) is notable because it occurred amid far higher call volume. This could reflect a shift toward quality over quantity — officers addressing more serious offenses when they respond.

Nuances, Implications, and Broader Perspective

These statistics do not exist in a vacuum. Dubuque’s reports have consistently emphasized that raw numbers alone cannot capture the full picture of public safety. For instance:

•  A higher call volume does not automatically mean rising crime; it can signal greater community trust in reporting issues or simply more people out and about.

•  The disclaimer on arrests and citations is legally important — many cases resolve without convictions, through diversions, or dismissals.

•  Edge cases worth noting: Non-custodial arrests (field releases with court dates) inflate the “arrests” total compared to jail bookings only. Traffic-related calls often dominate the service total, especially in March as road conditions improve.

From a citywide viewpoint, the March data builds on the January-February baseline. Early 2026 showed a slight February dip (calls down 6.8% from January), followed by this robust March rebound. Year-over-year comparisons are not yet available in the released reports, but the department has previously highlighted successes such as record-low shots-fired incidents in 2025, credited to community policing, camera technology, and inter-agency collaboration.

Residents can view the full March report image and prior months on the Dubuque Police Department’s social media channels or the city’s Police-to-Citizen (P2C) portal at p2c.cityofdubuque.org, which also offers real-time call snapshots, arrest logs, and incident searches.

As spring progresses, local leaders and residents will watch whether the upward trend in activity holds or moderates. The Dubuque Police Department, serving since 1837 from the Law Enforcement Center, continues to provide these monthly updates as part of its commitment to transparency. The next April report, expected in early May, will offer further insight into whether March’s increases represent a new seasonal normal or a one-month anomaly.

For now, the numbers paint a picture of a busy March — more calls, more enforcement, and a department actively engaged across the full spectrum of public safety needs.