Bryton Westbrook proudly held up a baggie filled with lake water and tiny catfish, before he ran into Lake Farmington July 16 to join his siblings.
“We come out here every day,” said Wendy McCoy, Westbrook’s grandmother. “It’s a great place to come with your family.”
McCoy said the lake has been a safe and inexpensive place for family outings this summer.
“The city of Farmington comes out here to patrol. Park rangers check our coolers to make sure there is no alcohol. They patrol to keep it safe,” McCoy said.
McCoy noticed additional presence from Farmington Police and park rangers.
Increased patrols, park rangers and partnerships with other agencies were put into place this summer by the Farmington Police Department to address an “influx of crime and public safety concerns,” Farmington Police Lt. Luther Mosley said during a July 16 interview with the Tri-City Record.
This led to a “huge ramp up” in police presence that will go until Aug. 20.
Police officers are doing close patrols at the lake and park rangers are consistently present. “Between our park rangers and police officers we’ve done overtime projects out there,” Mosley said.
“Our arrests have significantly increased, because we are out there,” Mosley said adding that from 2024 until now, the number of arrests made at Lake Farmington have increased 980%.
There was a 125% increase between 2025 to 2026.
“This shows the significance of what can happen when you put that effort in,” Mosley said.
Mosley said he knew the additional presence was needed after he started collecting data last year with a focus on incidents at Lake Farmington. “I go back and look at five-year trends and try to get the patterns,” Mosley said.
He pulled data for the past five summers beginning in 2022. He counted the summer months as from the time school ended around May 22 to when they return to class on Aug. 10.
Mosley discovered June showed the “highest risk” for crime and significant events at the lake. July came in second, and August came in third.
The data also showed that in 2024, there were 334 calls for service at the lake. The number increased to 400 in 2025, and there have been 189 in 2026 as of July 16.
Significant incidents include violent crimes, thefts and drownings, but the top two crimes police have encountered at Lake Farmington are alcohol use and DWI, Mosley said.
Not only is alcohol prohibited on lake property, it can be a contributing factor in more serious incidents, such as drownings, Mosley said.
Consuming alcohol, swimming alone and not wearing a life vest are the major contributing factors to drowning, Mosley said, adding “when officers are making contact – they are providing education” on those topics.
They also instituted a “zero-tolerance approach” to alcohol use at Lake Farmington, according to Mosley.
“Something we are imposing is if you have open alcohol, it is arrestable,” Mosley said. “If we roll up, and you have it we will remove you from the lake.”
A person with alcohol also will be trespassed from the property for one year, Mosley said.
Mosley pointed out there are signs all over lake property to remind people that alcohol is prohibited, and life jackets are required.
He also has worked with the Farmington Parks and Recreation Department to make educational pamphlets about safety at the lake. While those are not yet available, they are in the works, Mosley said.
The educational outreach and patrols have worked to increase a sense of safety at Lake Farmington.
“I feel safe here, as long as we all have our life jackets,” said Natalie Candelaria, who was at the lake with her three children and a friend, Aubrey Yates.
“We sure love it and we are happy to have it,” Yates said.
Tamra O’Toole was paddleboarding in the water and said she and her children love the lake, but they do take measures to ensure safety. “We lock the cars,” she said, adding, “We always have fun and the people out here are really nice.”
Lake Farmington is open for general public use from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. There is a $1 per person entry fee. Camping for $10 is available in the campground.