Township police present annual service report

By Dana Casadei

During this year’s 2024 annual police report presentation to the township board on Monday, June 23, James Gallagher, Bloomfield Township Police Chief, highlighted all the work they’ve accomplished this past year to keep the township safe and continue their strong involvement in the community.

“We’re hoping we’re making an impact in the neighborhoods,” he said at the board of trustees meeting.

Through the department’s Service Oriented Policing, there were 1,633 vacation house checks, 104 school security checks, 501 citizen assists, and 244 vehicle lockouts. Gallagher noted that the Bloomfield Township police department is one of the few municipalities that still do vehicle lockouts, where they are able to help motorists who have locked their keys in their cars.

In total, there were roughly 24,905 calls for service, down about five percent from 2023. Gallagher said that decline is because they’re still down officers, and were down 13 at one point in 2024. There’s high hopes that they will be back to being fully staffed by next May.

Due to the department, being down officers Gallagher said he believes that was part of the cause for a slight increase in part B crimes, which totaled 244 in 2024. Part B crimes are typically misdemeanors that carry a penalty of less than one year in prison, and range from a hit and run accident to liquor law violations and driving while under the influence.

Even though there was a slight increase with part B crimes there was a massive decrease – 16 percent – for part A crimes, which are the most serious offenses, such as robberies, stalking, assault, and fraud and ID theft.

The last two years there were increases in part A crimes, primarily due to fraud and ID thefts, robberies, and automobile thefts.

Out of the nearly 25,000 calls for service, nearly 800 resulted in arrests, the report showed.

“We’re very transparent with these numbers,” Gallagher said.

While calls for service were a little low compared to last year, numbers for the year were nearly double that, with 42,564 non-emergency calls, 736 texts to 911, and 16,199 for 911. The dispatch unit is staffed by 12 dispatchers and one dispatch supervisor.

Another unit within the police department with high numbers for 2024 was the property and records department. Throughout the year there were 1,139 pieces of property brought into evidence, 690 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests processed, and 322 dog tags issued.

Outside of all the work completed inside the building was the work the Bloomfield Township police did out in the community.

The police department has had a large focus on community involvement for years, and continued to do so this last year, the chief said. In 2024, they hosted town hall meetings, brought back the Youth Police Academy, and held women’s self-defense classes.

They raised over $20,000 for the Special Olympics, gave tours for local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and even built a ramp for a local resident who needed wheelchair assistance to get into their home.

Gallagher said they also spent some time in the pediatrics section at Beaumont Hospital, where they went to every room and handed out gift cards to the families with loved ones in the hospital.

The full report can be found at bloomfieldtwp.org/police/police-annual-reports.