Hanson is personally heading up two administrative projects that will have a wide-ranging effect on the operation of his department.

Last Sept. 2, the first project was introduced. The City Council of Webster City adopted resolution #No. 2025-076 establishing fees and fines for local services and violations. Most had not been revised since 2005. By establishing its own schedule of municipal fees and fines, the city will have police officers write tickets for these, rather than simply charging violators fines set by the Iowa Legislature. This will allow 100% of fines collected to remain in Webster City. Previously, practically all the money collected here went to the state of Iowa.

The new fees range from a low of $25 to have police unlock your car, to $645 if you’re involved in a car accident and don’t have insurance. The highest fine is $1,285, the amount charged for driving 25 mph over the posted speed limit in a road construction zone.

In the second project, Hanson is rewriting the department’s policy manual “from cover-to-cover.” He’s being assisted in this work with help from a consultant, Lexipol, of Frisco, Texas.

The firm continually monitors changes in Iowa law, and advises Hanson how local law enforcement should interpret and realign its operating procedures to be in harmony with state statutes. The project has a targeted completion date of Dec. 31, 2026.

An up-to-date policy manual is one step toward one of Hanson’s long-range goals: having Webster City’s police department accredited by a standards review organization. According to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., “the accreditation process focuses on standards that focus on best practices related to life, health and safety procedures.”

Only a few Iowa police departments are accredited at present. Currently only Des Moines, Waukee and Sioux City have accredited departments. Having an accredited department would place Webster City among an elite group of agencies in Iowa, and bring a new level of contemporary policing to the city.

With the blessing of both Webster City Community District’s Superintendent Matt Berninghaus, and City Manager John Harrenstein, Webster City police officers are now regularly visiting Webster City schools.

The objective is simple, said Hanson, “It’s to increase our presence, especially in the morning, at the start of the school day, and in the afternoon, as the school day ends.”

After a year’s absence, Drug Abuse Resistance Education has returned to fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms in Webster City. Founded in Los Angeles in 1983, DARE grew rapidly in the remainder of the 1980s and throughout the ’90s. At one time 75% of schools in the U.S. had DARE instruction. The program, funded with federal dollars, has always been seen as part of the U.S. government’s wider “war on drugs” effort. Webster City officers Steve Thumma and Dave Turpin have been designated DARE officers for the 2025-26 school year.

Probably the biggest change for the WCPD in 2025 was consolidation of its dispatch services with Hamilton County at the County Courthouse.

“It was a transition for our citizens, who were used to having 24/7 access to a police dispatcher at City Hall,” Hanson said, “It was literally possible to ask for a report, pay a dog license fee, or talk to a police officer in person at 2 a.m. under that system, but the change to the new center has gone very well, and it’s resulting in improved public safety as well.”

The consolidation of the two dispatch centers was underway when Hanson arrived, but since he’s always operated under a single dispatch center model throughout his career, he was able to lend his support to the move with the benefit of long experience.

He realizes some in Webster City might see the move as a reduction in services. He disagrees with this assessment, making the point, “we’re still answering the Police Department phone number we’ve used for decades– 24 hours a day. That number is 832-9166, and we’re also available on the new, preferred number — 832-8636, as well. What’s important to remember is that all we changed is the way you can reach us, but the level of police protection remains the same.”