165 W. Fayette Street

Hillsdale, MI 49242

(517) 437-7317

(800) 437-7317

Emergency : 911

The Hillsdale County Sheriffs Office serves as the largest law enforcement agency within Hillsdale County and is charged with the responsibility of providing a vast amount of policing services to our community. The Office of the Sheriff has a proud history, which spans well over a thousand years, from the early Middle Ages to our own high-tech era. The strength of this office and the authority granted to the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, Sheriff Burchardt, is deeply rooted in the Michigan Constitution. The Michigan Constitution of 1835 provided that there shall be a Sheriff, and as such, the Sheriff has been the only elected constitutional police officer since the beginning of our statehood. As such, the current day Sheriff is active in all three branches of the Criminal Justice system consisting of law enforcement, courts and corrections. The Hillsdale County Sheriffs Office has a vast amount of responsibilities within these branches including process service, court security, dive rescue, corrections, animal control, criminal investigations, road patrol, traffic services and marine patrol. Our office remains proud of our rich history and deeply rooted authority granted by the Constitution. We are honored to serve our residents, guests and visitors ensuring their safety and protecting their property.

2007 introduced many challenges, as well as great opportunities, for continued quality law enforcement services and community-based programs for our residents. Without a doubt, the unstable economy contributed significantly to the slight increase in criminal activity as we witnessed an increase in property crimes and thefts. However, these criminals were brought to justice as Sheriff Detectives and support staff worked diligently to return property to owners and restore order to our community. It has been a very busy year fighting the state bureaucracy in Lansing for every dollar we can get while lobbying to keep our current funding levels and grant allocations. This task was coupled with increasing the workload of our Road Patrol Deputies absent the presence of a fully staffed State Police Post. Therefore, I wish to highlight a few significant accomplishments that our office achieved during 2007 and their continued impact on our community.

Funding a full-strength law enforcement agency that operates 24 hours a day, every day, is a challenge requiring constant review of outside funding sources for much needed equipment and personnel. In 2007, the Sheriffs Office maintained a consistent level of grant funding for personnel and reached out to many sources for additional funding for our educational program, cadet program, specialized equipment and other needs outside the funding of the County of Hillsdale. The following represents the accomplishments of our office during 2007 and anticipated programs for 2008:

Accomplishments:
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Meth Lab Awareness: decrease in dangerous meth labs from 33 in first year to two in 2007 , Meth summit kicked off awareness, educational programs conducted for realtors, civic groups, St. Peters Free Clinic and other groups.
Alcohol Grants and enforcement , received $28,000 in FY2007 and $34,000 in FY2008 for drunken driving enforcement and youth alcohol enforcement , saving lives.
Approval of a full-time Animal Control Officer , 2007 brought the hard work of key community leaders, Sheriff Office personnel and Commissioners to update the Animal Control Ordinance. This brought to light the need for a full-time animal control officer that was approved for the FY2008 budget.
Professional Training Standards , The Sheriffs Office prides itself in training our staff with quality continuing education. Training ranged from firearms, special tactics, legal update, civil law update, honor guard, accident investigation, evidence technician training, jail and in-custody training for corrections staff, death investigation, crime scene investigation, court officer training, animal control training and other quality training totaling 2,549 total hours of training.
Jail Division Compliance 6th consecutive year , 2007 represented the sixth consecutive year of compliance with the Michigan Department of Corrections inspections of our facility. The jail faced many challenges with overcrowding on weekends and equipment failures due to the age of the building.
New Mission Statement for Sheriffs Office , Our office launched a leadership initiative for command staff and personnel. Many improvements were made in our standard operating procedures using consensus building team training. The most significant change resulted in a new mission statement which will be launched at our All Department meeting in February. The Mission Statement which will help guide the men and women of uniform is to protect and serve our community by maintaining a high standard of honor and integrity through professional service.

Grants: Homeland Security , Continued to apply for and receive grant funding to purchase radio equipment and other needed equipment for a joint law enforcement response during a critical incident.
Tri State Mutual Aid Compact , Active investigations working together.

Community Oriented Policing Services:
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Cadet Program , Second class of students interested in law enforcement. They train every other Thursday for two hours and must volunteer in their community. We have 25 students.
Meth awareness programs , realtors, health professionals and such.
Firearms Safety Training ,Offered to the community and trained by highly qualified and certified firearms instructors. Over 300 students were trained in firearms safety according to the requirement by the State of Michigan for individuals seeking their concealed pistol permit. Female Self Defense Training: Rape and Aggression Defense training offered to residents of Hillsdale County and taught free of charge by certified police officers.
Student of the Month program: Designed to encourage youth participation in their school and community focusing on academics, sports, citizenship, work and other significant milestones achieved by students.
Reserve & Mounted Division: Logged over 1,000 hours of volunteer work to their community representing the Sheriffs Office at special events, fair grounds, small town festivals, public relations events and other community based programs.
Cell phones for seniors , over 50 phones provided to seniors or indigent persons needing a phone to call 911 in the event of an emergency.
Free gun locks , over 1,000 distributed during 2007 at public events and our office.
Project Education , Student safety material purchased by concerned community members who make financial donations allowing for resource material to be distributed to children for internet safety, gun safety, bike safety and related topics. The NRA Eddie the Eagle program continued to gain momentum in schools throughout Hillsdale County and taught by certified police officers.

Investigations / Patrols / Jail:
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911 dispatched a total of 4,095 calls to the Sheriff Office with 904 emergency calls and 3,191 non-emergency calls. Equally, the Sheriffs Office investigated over 6,000 other complaints brought directly to our office or turned over to our Detective Bureau from FIA and other agencies. Traffic Investigators handled 4 fatal accidents. Number of complaints which Detectives were called out on and investigated totaled 1,176 resulting in 169 arrests of suspects and 58 juvenile petitions. Evidence Technicians investigated 26 crime scenes. Deputies made 1,299 arrests resulting from warrants and investigations including traffic. Jail Deputies booked in 2,052 people who were arrested or sentenced by the courts to serve jail time. The average daily jail population was 64.47 inmates.

2008 Goals:
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Animal Control Ordinance: Should be adopted by the Board of Commissioners and put into effect by March 01, 2008.
Citizens Corp Academy: Designed for citizens of Hillsdale County who want learn about law enforcement and community involvement in such programs as neighborhood watch, domestic preparedness and home safety.
Meth Lab Site Map launched in January to protect our community.
Sex Offender Site Map to be launched in March detailing with photos sex offenders.
Youth Alcohol Summit , Coordination with Vargas and Associates to raise the awareness of underage drinking and alcohol use.
Education Summit , Sponsored by the Hillsdale County Sheriff¡¦s Office and the Seventh Congressional Office for a Federal, State and local awareness of issues facing schools such as bullying.

Sheriff Stan W. Burchardt

Media Contact: Undersheriff Jeremiah J. Hodshire Hillsdale County Sheriff Office 1-517-437-7317 EXT. 226