Lincoln Police townhall addresses questions about crime, regulations and what the future holds

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The people of Lincoln brought their questions directly to officials on Tuesday night, as Lincoln Police Department’s Northeast team held a two-hour townhall.

LPD announced the newest happenings in the force, as citizens anticipated learning more about specific topics on their minds, like E-bike regulations and crime stats.

According to Captain Max Hubka, a third-generation Lincoln police officer, the theme of the night was transparency.

“A lot of what we do in this line of work can seem secretive or we don’t want the public to know and generally that’s not the case,” said Hubka.

“We’d much rather have people ask those questions so they understand what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and then they can help us do our job even better,” he said.

The presentation included charts, while officers gave out handouts with more information to help clear up misconceptions about new laws.

Attendee Teri Ouraba is the President of the East Campus Community Organization.

She showed up to learn details about e-bikes so that she can relay it back to public.

“How fast the motorized bikes are moving, as well as the scooters,” specified Ouraba.

Those details were included in the handout, which can be accessed by clicking the following link.

Hubka also revealed on Tuesday that overall crime is down, both in Lincoln and nationally.

Although, some areas saw an uptick such as shoplifting and fraud.

One category of crime that has down by nearly 50% since last year, is the number of shots fired in Lincoln.

The presentation accounting for a total of 74 shots fired in 2025 and only 38 shots between January through September 2026.

Many in attendance, appreciating learning about crime statistics the most.

“I liked the crime updates and learning about the improvements that are being made in Lincoln,” said Julie Flodman.

Also in attendance, Jessica Loos and Matthew Harwell of Lincoln’s Emergency Communication Center and Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon.

All three addressed the audience, talking about the importance of citizens reporting crimes with the help of videos, pictures and detailed descriptions.

The presentation also mentioning the new surveillance technology LPD uses, including body cams and drones.

“I’ve always been interested in how you can catch these people easier, and it was answered tonight by just taking your phone and taking pictures or a video and getting as much information as you can get when you call the officers,” said James Flodman.

Attendee Barb Shupe told Channel 8 that she initially came with just one question, but the forum inspired greater curiosity.

“The other questions came to me, just basically as I was listening. It’s like, oh, I need to check into that and get more information.
It’s kind of during the listening process,” said Shupe.

Officials also discussed staffing within the force, including increasing the number of officers assigned to their Behavioral Health Unit, and Traffic Enforcement Unit.

Hubka also said they hope to add more patrol team investigators in 2027.

Currently, LPD has 347 commissioned personnel with an authorized strength of 371 officers.

If you would like to check out additional police statistics, you can do so by accessing their website here.