Kalamazoo police report shows drop in shootings, highlights gun-recovery and community programs

Assistant Chief Victor Green and Inspector Chuck Mason told the Citizens Public Safety Review and Appeal Board that overall Part 1 crimes and shooting victims declined in 2024, and they outlined enforcement and community programs aimed at reducing gun violence.

Inspector Chuck Mason, who leads the Office of Professional Standards, told the board the city saw a 12% drop in Part 1 crimes from 2023 to 2024 and that shooting victims fell to 53 in 2024 from about 80 the prior year. Mason said the city recovered hundreds of firearms in recent years and that, “as of this week, we’ve seized 56 guns off the streets of Kalamazoo this year.”

Mason described how the Kalamazoo Police Department uses targeted intelligence and technology, rather than broad enforcement, to focus on illegal gun possession. “We’re not casting a broad net when it comes to conducting our enforcement efforts,” Mason said. He also described the department’s use of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to compare shell casings and trace shooting activity: “All those casings are entered into a database called NIBIN … when these casings are entered … we can track the movement of guns from one place to another.”

Mason provided year-to-year and month-to-month context: he cited a sharp rise in shooting victims around 2020 (from 38 victims in 2019 to 88 in 2020), then a reduction to 53 victims in 2024. He said the department recovered 2,041 shell casings in 2023 and noted recovery counts in early months — approximately 275 shell casings in January–February 2024 versus 28 in the same period this year — as signs of an improving trend.

The presentation included a body-camera excerpt shown to the board to illustrate how quickly gunfire can affect bystanders; Mason said a fraction of an inch or foot in a different direction “could have completely changed either one of their lives.”

Mason and Chief Green also described community programs tied to the enforcement work. They urged Kalamazoo residents to apply for the Kalamazoo Citizens Academy (Inspector Mason noted the next session is May 17; the application is posted online and residency is not required) and described a faith-based amnesty option run with local churches under the department’s Pastors on Patrol (POPS) outreach. Chief Green said churches participating in the amnesty program accept unsolicited firearm drop-offs with no questions asked; he reported eight guns had been turned in through that program at the time of the meeting.

On civilian oversight, Mason explained a PCR (police citizen relations complaint) is a formal complaint sent to the Office of Professional Standards for full investigation and review by the chief. He told the board that the January–February PCR list had been resolved, with one complaint (item 8) withdrawn by the complainant.

Board members praised the department’s public information work and outreach events and noted opportunities for board members to observe hiring interviews and take ride-alongs to better understand department operations.

The board did not receive public comments during the meeting.