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Fire, police and court reports highlight increases in certain calls and caseloads
Summary
At the Dec. 17 meeting the fire and police chiefs and the district court judge reviewed November activity: a fatal storage fire under investigation, trends in calls and arrests, and rising civil filings and specialty court participation at the district court.
Fire and police leadership and the 62-B District Court judge presented monthly updates to the commission on Dec. 17.
Fire department staff reported 12 fires in November, including a fatal storage-facility fire that is under active investigation; the department declined to provide further specifics while detectives continue work on the case. Fire prevention activity and inspections were reported to be up from the prior year, and smoke alarm installs were cited as a continuing public-safety effort.
The police chief reported 1,473 calls for service in November and year-to-date calls exceeding 16,000. The chief detailed month-by-month counts for robberies, aggravated assaults, property crimes and larcenies, and noted a decline in motor-vehicle-theft instances tied to key patterns in suspect/victim relationships. Officers also used drone assistance in at least one hit-and-run investigation, and narcotics-related responses and DUI enforcement were discussed.
Judge delivering a court update said civil filings have grown substantially (he cited roughly a 54% projected increase year-over-year for certain civil filings), OWI caseloads have increased and the court is managing more out-of-hours blood-search-warrant requests. The judge described two specialty court programs: the West Michigan Regional Sobriety Court (43 active participants) and a new grant-funded domestic-violence specialty court with five active participants in phase 1.
Officials flagged staffing and transition issues involving the county public defender office and an upcoming magistrate retirement. The judge said the court’s collection activity has increased municipal revenue by about $177,000 year-to-date. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about details that will be provided when investigations or audits are complete.
