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Wright County lieutenant: City of Otsegocalls for service rose about 5% as co-responder unit expands
Summary
Lieutenant Jeff McMackens told the City of Otsego council the sheriffs offices 2025 annual report shows citizen-generated calls rose about 8% and total calls about 5%, citing increases in mental-health checks, juvenile complaints and a cluster of storage-locker thefts behind a burglary uptick.
Lieutenant Jeff McMackens of the Wright County Sheriffs Office told the City of Otsego council on April 13 that the departments updated 2025 annual report shows a modest rise in demand for service.
"Our total calls for service was up about 5% from last year," McMackens said, adding that citizen-generated calls for service rose a little over 8%. He said the sheriffs office uses citizen-generated calls as a baseline for staffing recommendations and that population growth and new housing will push demand higher.
McMackens said the department has seen increases in mental-health welfare checks and juvenile activity, particularly in parks, and that shoplifting and thefts are up. He credited a co-responder unit added in 2023a0a0a0a0a deputy paired with a social workerwith helping connect people to resources.
The lieutenant cautioned that an apparent doubling of burglaries (from seven to 13) largely reflects a regional series of storage-locker thefts; excluding those incidents, Otsegos burglary count would be near prior-year levels. He said detectives recently executed search warrants and that the investigation is active.
Traffic-related incidents rose as well: McMackens said crashes were up about 12%, traffic stops about 15% and DUI arrests roughly 37%. Overall citations increased about 28% year-over-year, he said.
During council questions, McMackens clarified that parking-complaint figures include both resident calls and deputy-initiated reports and explained the difference between theft and burglary: theft often occurs where the person is allowed to be (retail), while burglary involves unauthorized entry and may carry different degrees depending on circumstances.
McMackens asked council members to provide feedback on the reports format and suggested the multi-year tables will make trends easier to interpret. He said staffing appears adequate for now but emphasized planning around expected residential growth.
The council did not take action on the report; the lieutenant invited follow-up questions and feedback to refine future editions of the annual report.
