Oshtemo residents call the sheriff’s office most often for welfare checks and suspicious activity, not violent crime, according to a new quarterly update.
Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sergeant Adam Kelm presented the report to the Oshtemo Township Board on September 9, covering activity in the township since the start of the year. The township’s own dispatch data, included in the board’s meeting packet, shows the most common reasons residents call police are largely non-criminal: welfare checks, suspicious activity reports, and follow-up calls rank among the most frequent, ahead of any category of violent crime. Kelm called that pattern a positive sign, noting the department doesn’t want to see assaults or other serious offenses topping the list.
Retail fraud, assaults, and larceny or theft make up the largest share of the criminal calls the department does see, which Kelm attributed largely to the volume of retail businesses along corridors like West Main Street. He also flagged a recent wave of vehicle break-ins and theft attempts in college-area apartment complexes, and a string of salon burglaries that hit multiple communities across the county over the summer, not just Oshtemo.
For residents wondering why certain locations, including Walmart and Meijer, show up with high call volumes: Kelm said that largely reflects the township’s community policing officers, who are stationed at those businesses regularly and proactively open service calls to prevent crime, rather than a sign those locations are especially dangerous.
On prosecutions, Kelm said whether a case moves forward often comes down to victim cooperation, which is a particular challenge in domestic violence cases. Retail fraud cases, where the business itself is the cooperating victim, are far more likely to proceed to charges.
Two developments are worth watching. The department is pursuing county funding for a drone team with four drones countywide, with one based in Oshtemo, that could help locate stolen vehicles or confirm crash locations without dispatching an officer. And after a board member asked about Flock license plate reading cameras operating in the township, Kelm confirmed they exist locally but said Sheriff Richard Fuller plans a separate public announcement addressing community questions about them, which Kelm said is expected soon.
Also fielding board questions: the department’s approach to abandoned vehicles. Vehicles blocking a roadway or over the fog line, the white line marking the outer edge of the traffic lane, are towed immediately; others are tagged and given time to be retrieved before further action, with most cases tracing back to breakdowns or owners who can’t afford towing costs.
