Long Beach police highlight license-plate-reader success and secure council support for e-bike grant

Chief Swiss told the council the police department responded to 400 calls in May and documented 20 incident reports and nine arrests. He recounted a May 12 mental‑health response in which officers used Long Beach’s four license-plate‑reader cameras (about $3,000 each per year) plus data from the Michigan City Police Department to track a vehicle and find a person within roughly 15 minutes, enabling officers to get that person immediate assistance. "Without that technology, we never would have found that car that day so quickly," Chief Swiss said, and he commended Corporal Matthew Farthing and Trail Creek Town Marshall Steve Dick for their roles in the response.

Separately, the police department asked the council to endorse applying for a $5,000 Dunland Health Council grant to purchase a fully equipped e-bike priced at $4,926. Chief Swiss said the bike would be used by deputies and reserve deputies to increase patrol accessibility and community contact during busy pedestrian months; there is no town match required. He described the bike as "fully equipped" with lights, storage for equipment and other patrol gear. Council members voted to authorize submission of the grant application and to allow the council president to sign a required letter of support.

The department also noted plans to use more off‑vehicle patrols (ATV, bicycle, e‑bike) this summer to increase community engagement and visibility. The council’s approval was by voice vote; the meeting record does not include a roll-call tally in the transcript.