2014 Sheriffs Office Annual Report

Annual Report
2014
ALLEGAN COUNTY
SHERIFF’S OFFICE &
CORRECTIONS CENTER
640 River St. Allegan, MI
Blaine A. Koops, Sheriff
DIVISION SUMMARIES
ADMINISTRATION
Case Reports Transcribed
14000
12347
12012
12000
10678
10000
11034
9475
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
From 2013 to 2014, there was an 8% increase in the number of cases transcribed
by the three (3) Precinct Coordinators; this averages to 4,004 cases transcribed by
each Precinct Coordinator. This does not include any supplemental reports that
are also completed by the original officer or any of the supporting officers (i.e.
tech units, detectives, other road officers).
License to Purchase – Gun Permits
The number of License to Purchase Permits has decreased from 454 in 2013 to
297 in 2014 due to yet another State Firearms law change that occurred in
December, 2012. The law change allows an individual to purchase a handgun
from a federally licensed firearms (FFL) dealer without a license to purchase and
the dealer performs the background check through National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (NICS). Currently, there are 26 FFL dealers licensed
in Allegan County. Individuals purchasing from anyone other than a FFL dealer
must obtain a permit from law enforcement, however with the law change, an
individual is allowed to apply for a permit with any law enforcement agency in
the State of Michigan; regardless of jurisdictional boundary.
2
In addition to issuing License to Purchase Permits, each county is responsible for
the actual registration of each gun purchased within their county (this includes
guns purchased by CPL holders, guns purchased from FFL dealers and guns
purchased from an individual/inheritance). In 2014, the Allegan County Sheriff’s
Office registered 3,279 handguns to individual residents and 445 handguns to FFL
dealers within Allegan County, for a total number of 3,724 guns. This averages to
310 gun entries a month.
Concealed Pistol License (CPL)
900
874
880
860
883
853
840
820
794
800
780
763
760
740
720
700
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
In 2014, 763 new CPLs were issued, and 577 licenses were renewed. New
applications require Live Scan fingerprinting and background checks completed
prior to the Gun Board approving the license. Background checks only are
required for renewals.
CPL holders who are arrested for crimes will have their CPL suspended until their
case is adjudicated. CPL holders who are convicted will have their CPL
revoked/suspended for a period of either three (3) years, eight (8) years, or
permanently depending on the crime for which they are convicted.
2012
2013
2014
Suspensions
6
12
21
Revocations
7
12
3
3
Live Scan Fingerprints
What are Live Scan prints? Live scan
fingerprinting is inkless and captures the
fingerprint digitally on a computer. The prints
are then forwarded electronically to the State
of Michigan, FBI, Department of Justice or
another authorized agency for a criminal
background check or for other purposes.
In addition to the Live Scan fingerprints for new CPL applicants being done at the
Sheriff’s Office, staff also fingerprinted 198 individuals for licenses, such as State
Bar and Mortgage Loan Officer, and for employment, such as Michigan School
employment and Adult Foster Care.
Sex Offender Registrations
Effective April 1, 2014, the State of Michigan switched databases and went to a
national program, Offender Watch, and also made changes to the Sex Offender
Registration law.
April 1, 2014 Law Changes:
Prior to Law Changes in 2014:
Annual fee of $50.00
One-time only fee of $50.00
Verification takes place based on the
offender’s birth month, and Tier category.
Verification was in the months of
January, April, July, and October for all
There are 3 Tiers:

Tier 1
Annual verification

Tier 2
Bi-annual verification

Tier 3
Quarterly verification
offenders.
The entire month to verify their address.
4
First 15 days of each month to verify.
Sex Offender Verifications
at ACSO
1000
954
950
900
873
850
827
800
750
2012
2013
2014
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests
FOIA requests continue to increase. In 2014, 805 requests were received by our
office and were answered. Depending on the complexity of the request,
processing a request can take anywhere from 20 minutes to several days to
complete.
FOIA Requests
900
800
793
805
2013
2014
700
600
563
500
400
300
200
100
0
2012
5
Law Enforcement Services
There are eight (8) Sergeants, twenty-four (24) General-funded Patrol Deputies,
eight (8) Township Contract Deputies, and three (3) Traffic Unit Deputies under
the supervision of Captain Scott Matice. Townships with contracted deputies are:
Fillmore/Overisel, Leighton/Dorr, Wayland, Gun Plain, Lee, and Laketown.
Total Number of Incidents
Total Incidents
19500
19244
19000
18472
18500
2010
18349
2011
2012
18000
17893
2013
17955
2014
17500
17000
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Called in by Citizens
18000
16000
15125
15105
14824
15455
14000
12457
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2010
2011
2012
6
2013
2014
Officer Initiated Calls
4000
3789
3525
3410
3500
2850
3000
2500
2000
1768
1500
1000
500
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Traffic Crashes
The Sheriff’s Office handled 1,967 traffic crashes in 2014; four (4) being fatal
crashes that were investigated by our crash reconstruction team.
2014 Traffic Crashes
1200
1033
1000
800
591
600
400
338
200
0
Personal Injury Accidents
Car/Deer Accidents
Property Damage Accidents
November was the busiest month in Personal Injury Accidents (56) and Car/Deer
Accidents (123), and the second highest month for Property Damage Accidents
(188), with January being the busiest with 209. Two (2) Personal Injury Accidents
involved members of our Road Patrol unit.
7
Animal Control
Animal Control consists of one (1) full-time and one (1) part-time deputy;
responding to 1,547 calls in 2014. Their calls range from picking up stray dogs
running at large to investigating cases of animal cruelty.
Specialized Teams and Units
Dive/Rescue and Recovery Team
Training and preparation of this team occurs year round, from ice rescue
in the winter months to low light/night diving in Lake Michigan taking
place in early fall.
An example of how this team was utilized occurred in November, 2014,
when the team recovered the body of a missing kayaker who drowned in
the Highbanks area of Swan Creek.
K-9 Team
Our K-9 Teams responded to 211 calls in 2014, consisting of tracking of
missing persons, searching vehicles, and tracking suspects, in addition to
holding instructional programs.
SWAT Team
The SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactical) Team had four (4) call-outs in
2014. Three (3) of the calls were that of a barricaded subject armed or
8
believed to be armed with a firearm. Armored vehicles were deployed as
well and played a pivotal role in the safe outcome for the suspects and
officers on the calls.
Traffic Team
Our Traffic Team consists of three (3) road patrol deputies and these
positions are funded by the Secondary Road Patrol Grant (Public Act 416
of 1978), through the Department of State Police’s Office of Highway
Safety Planning. In 2014, these three (3) deputies logged 74,864 miles and
made 2,219 traffic stops.
In 2014, Mothers Against
Drunk Driving Michigan
honored law enforcement
officers for their commitment
to impaired driving
enforcement with Lifesavers
Law Enforcement Recognition
Awards in August. Our own
Deputy Mike Martin was
awarded one of three Outstanding Rookie of the Year awards. Deputy Martin
had five (5) arrests for drunk driving during his field training and then an
additional thirty-one (31) arrests during his first year on patrol.
9
Marine Patrol Unit
Marine Patrol Deputies logged a total of 2,202 hours on the waters of
Allegan County in 2014 and conducted 2,206 compliance
inspections/checks. In addition to being out on the waters, seven (7)
Boating Safety classes were taught by Marine Patrol deputies, training and
certifying two hundred ten (210) people.
Reserve Unit
The Reserve Unit is comprised of forty-three (43) part-time/volunteer
deputies. In January, 2014, the mounted unit was restructured and became
part of the Reserve Unit, with seven (7) members transferring into the
Reserve Unit. Reserve Deputies logged a total of 9,077 hours. These
hours consisted of ride-alongs with Road Patrol Deputies, trainings,
meetings, guarding hospitalized inmates, traffic control, and events
(County Fair, B93 Birthday Bash).
Victim Services Unit (VSU)
VSU is comprised of ten (10) volunteers. This special unit provides
assistance for victims and victim's family members during the traumatic
time immediately following a fatal vehicle crash, suicide, homicide or
similar incident. In 2014, VSU members responded to thirty-eight (38)
calls for service (27 at home natural deaths, 7 suicides, 3 death notification
assists, and 1 CSC).
10
INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES
Investigative Services is under the leadership of Captain Mike Larsen. This unit
consists of three Detectives assigned to general cases, and one Detective assigned
to Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) cases. In 2014, 512 cases were investigated by
these detectives. Detectives also provided assistance to the uniformed services
deputies investigating cases that were not assigned to the Investigative Services
division. This is an increase in cases from the year prior by 16%. Amongst these
cases, there was one (1) homicide and seven (7) great bodily harm less than
murder cases investigated in Allegan County.
Detectives are responsible for the follow up investigations of the most severe
cases to which the Sheriff’s Office responds. The detectives are available to assist
road patrol deputies in writing search warrants and interviewing suspects.
Additional responsibilities include being on call nights and weekends.
In addition, the Sheriff’s Office currently assigns one (1) detective to the West
Michigan Enforcement Team (WeMET). WeMET is a multi-agency collaborative
team and is responsible for drug-related investigations in Allegan County.
CSC Cases
140
122
120
106
100
102
95
89
80
60
40
20
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
CSC numbers remain relatively consistent. Our CSC Detective works closely with
the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center
to resolve these cases.
11
Breaking & Entering Cases
350
300
303
296
246
250
216
200
153
150
100
50
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIVISION (EMD)
Allegan County Emergency Management and Staff updated the Emergency
Operation Plan and the All-Hazards Mitigation Plan in 2014; receiving approval
for both by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In addition
the staff completed several Incident Action Plans (IAPs) in support of pre-planned
events such as the Allegan County Fair, B-93 Birthday Bash and Gun Lake Tribal
Gathering. A school response IAP template was also developed for public and
private schools. The office also collected and redistributed school drill notice
forms to first responder agencies and observed many of the drill demonstrations.
In 2014, the EMD completed over
fourteen (14) community exercises
testing a variety of hazards facing our
communities, including the FEMA
Evaluated Exercise for the Palisades
Nuclear Power Plant. This Palisades
exercise included twenty-five local,
county, state and federal agencies.
12
Our Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) Members have completed over
twenty (20) site visits with TIER II hazardous materials facilities and created off-site
response plans to share with local first responders and the community. The LEPC
has also created its three (3) year strategic plan, with the emphasis of completing
response plans, conducting a commodity flow study on our major transportation
corridors and public chemical awareness seminars.
The EMD was successful in obtaining the following grants in 2014:
Emergency Management Performance Grant
$35,417
Hazard Mitigation Planning Grant
$17,028
Palisades Fund
$20,000
Regional Homeland Security Funds
$32,862
For a Total of: $105,307
13
CORRECTIONS
There are six (6) Sergeants and thirty-one (31) Corrections Deputies under the
supervision of Captain Charity Cummins. Captain Cummins joined our team in
the fall of 2014 after the retirement of Captain Deb Marculis in June, 2014.
Total Number of Bookings
6000
5040
4769
5000
4378
4357
2011
2012
4112
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
2010
2013
2014
In 2014, the average bookings per day were thirteen (13) and three hundred
ninety-eight (398) per month. Prior to the move to the new facility, our daily
average population was at our rated capacity, which required us to take steps to
minimize the number of new bookings, resulting in the reduction of the overall
number of bookings.
Although we saw the highest number of days that the jail was over capacity in
2013 reaching two hundred and one (201) days; in 2014, we reduced the number
of days over capacity to seventy (70) days, all of which occurred prior to October
1. The average daily population in 2014 was one hundred sixty-five (165) within
our one hundred seventy-three (173) bed facility. Since October 1, 2014 in the
new facility, the daily population average is one hundred fifty-six (156).
14
Commented [t1]: Warrant sweeps, citations issued versus
arresting, and no weekend FOC Arrests.
Number of Bed Days Saved
2012
2013
2014
1143
1040
1153
Inmate Workers
1523
1273
1569
Work Release
39
32
33
Meth Diversion
Program
791
487
128
GED Program
245
176
240
Drug Court
169
61
105
298
555
488
4208
3624
3716
CSW DEBTS
Inmates
Weekend Alter.
Comm. Service
Total for All
Programs
The number of bed days saved increased in 2014 as a result of utilizing additional
inmate workers to assist with daily operations in the new facility.
Inmate Programs
Allegan County offers a wide range of programs to males and females while
incarcerated. The programs range from inmate worker positions to rehabilitation
counseling with trained professionals. Our most successful programs are the
DEBTS Crew and the GED Program.
DEBTS Crew

DEBTS stands for Detail Enabling a Better Transition to Society.

This includes our Drain and DPW crews. They work 4-5 days a
week and receive one (1) day for good time for every three (3)
days worked.
15

Drain Inmate Crew
 The Drain Inmate Crew works from April 1 until
November or December, depending on the weather.
 This crew consists of four (4) inmates that are
supervised by a member of the Allegan County Drain
Office; removing brush and overgrowth from rivers and
creek drains in Allegan County.
 The fee is $3.50 per hour for these inmates and the
yearly income for the general fund is between $15,000
and $20,000.

Department of Public Works (DPW) Inmate Crew
 The DPW Inmate Crew works year round with Otsego,
Plainwell, Saugatuck-Douglas, and the Kalamazoo
Lake, Water, & Sewer Authority.
 This crew consists of five (5) inmates that are
supervised by the Community Service DEBTS Crew
Supervisor, performing landscaping services utilizing
chainsaws, trimmers, and pruning equipment.
 The fee is $4.00 per hour for these inmates and the
yearly income for the general fund is approximately
$20,000.

Both of these programs help save bed days for the Corrections
Center and earn revenue.

The programs teach the inmates to be responsible and at the same
time learning a work ethic that has the potential of leading to a
permanent job after being released because of their work
performance while on this crew.
16
General Education Development or GED School Program

In 2014, we had thirty-four (34) inmates receive their GED through
our program in the Corrections Center.

Participation in the GED School Program does not reduce their
sentence, however it provides a stronger foundation and work
experience for their job search after they are released.

This Program also offers assistance with college tuition, financial aid,
and Michigan Works job search training opportunities.

Younger inmates participating in the GED School Program benefit by
continuing to advance their schooling while incarcerated.
Both of these programs are successful and we continue to add new programs to
help with rehabilitation of inmates while incarcerated.
17
WE MOVED!
2014 will be remembered as the year of the “move” as we began a new era of
Corrections and Law Enforcement in Allegan County. A decade of planning,
hard work, and effort finally paid off on a Friday in October when we closed the
doors to the Walnut Street Jail and moved into the new facility on River Street.
The new Allegan County Sheriff’s Office and Corrections Center opened with
166 inmates. The move from the old jail took just over 3½ hours as the entire jail
population was moved during one evening shift. The move started around 10:30
pm and was completed by 2:05 am. The inmates were transported in prisoner
transport vans on loan from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office for the
evening. The vans, loaded with inmates, made 21 trips from the old facility to the
new facility.
There were a couple of minor issues during the move, which was to be expected,
but nothing significant. Some plumbing came apart behind one of the pods which
caused some flooding in the mechanical chase area and there were some housing
areas with lights that would not shut off and some with lights that would not turn
on.
18
Overall the move was a huge success. Staff did not share with inmates the
scheduled move time for security reasons; however, the inmates seemed to know
that the move was imminent, as many were packed and ready to go that
evening. The inmates cooperated fully with staff and seemed excited and ready to
move to the new facility.
Looking ahead, the Sheriff’s Office is excited about the possibilities the new
facility has brought to expand inmate programming and to provide training
opportunities in our own building, utilizing our large and small meeting rooms.
19
Annual Report 2014
Allegan County Sheriff ’s Office & Corrections Center
Blaine A. Koops, Sheriff
Case Reports Transcribed
14000
12347
12012
12000
11034
10678
10000
9475
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Concealed Pistol License (CPL)
900
883
880
860
874
853
840
820
800
794
780
763
760
740
720
700
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Sex Offender Verifications
at ACSO
1000
954
950
900
873
850
827
800
750
2012
2013
2014
FOIA Requests
900
800
793
805
2013
2014
700
600
563
500
400
300
200
100
0
2012
Total Incidents
19500
19244
19000
18472
18500
18349
2010
2011
2012
18000
17893
2013
17955
2014
17500
17000
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2014 Traffic Crashes
1200
1033
1000
800
591
600
400
338
200
0
Personal Injury Accidents
Car/Deer Accidents
Property Damage Accidents
CSC Cases
140
122
120
106
100
102
95
89
80
60
40
20
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Breaking & Entering Cases
350
300
303
296
246
250
216
200
153
150
100
50
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Total Number of Bookings
6000
5040
4769
5000
4378
4357
2011
2012
4112
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
2010
2013
2014
Number of Bed Days Saved
2012
2013
2014
1143
1040
1153
Inmate Workers
1523
1273
1569
Work Release
39
32
33
791
487
128
GED Program
245
176
240
Drug Court
169
61
105
298
555
488
4208
3624
3716
CSW DEBTS
Inmates
Meth Diversion
Program
Weekend Alter.
Comm. Service
Total for All
Programs