Interesting! I checked out Utica's Crimedar first. Their reports tell you what the crimes were and where they happened. I checked out Shelby Township's and their reports only give vague hints of where crimes happened and no descriptions. What's the matter Shelby Twp.? Don't you want us to know how bad it really is out there?

Seems like mostly suspicious person reports..... So we have a 70 member police force to make out suspicious person reports, two larcenies and one theft from vehicle reports. I was expecting more public disturbances and domestic situations, the police in Shelby seem to live pretty safe and boring lives for the pay.

Matt, I am sure this is not a comprehensive list of all the crimes that occur in Shelby Twp. I am guessing that the icons indicate what the original complaint was, meaning what the citizen called in to complain about. Since it is nice out and it is soliciting season there are a lot of calls about suspicious persons. Also, the police officers deal with a lot more than this map can represent and NO police officer lives a safe life for any pay!!!

I do not think Shelby is adding all crime reports to the Crimedar list. Shelby actually only releases reports that are considered "closed" to the public. All of the open and active investigations are not released.

I get it, a lot of people are extremely critical of police (and fire, to some extent) without realizing what it is that they actually do, but to criticize because of something that's put into a volunteer database is pretty silly. Just because we live in a safe community doesn't mean that the officers don't risk their lives everyday they go to work

Amen Katy J Bless you

Sorry, I tend to get a little defensive when people criticize police for apparently no reason. People rarely understand what it is the officers and their families go through on a daily and nightly basis, yet they are so extremely quick to put the blame squarely on their shoulders. Safety costs money, plain and simple. Same goes with fire as well. Most of the cost of those services goes towards payroll, but it's necessary to the function of a community. And for as big an area as Shelby is, 70 officers isn't a lot.

and another amen Katy J

The next time the over zealous blogger who posted about the Shelby Police leading safe and boring lives needs a cop I think he should call the ice cream vendor.
What a terrible thing to say about men and women who truly do put their lives on the line as police officers. They never know who or what they will encounter on any given shift. I’m happy when I see the police patrolling our neighborhood. I even wave to them.
Let’s just hope and pray that things do remain safe and boring. I much prefer it that way.

Matt you sound like a very trusting person,could it be the guilt that makes you feel the need for the gun and so many cameras everywhere you go?

As the daughter, sister and wife of police officers I completely 100% disagree with your assessment of a police officers job. I don't have to ask an officer how much of his day is made up of preventing crime because I understand that strong police presence on its own does wonders in preventing crime from happening. And I'm not sure when traffic stops and domestic issues became reports for insurance purposes or simply "help after the fact". As for what they actually do, I have lived the majority of my life hearing what my loved ones did while on duty and I can assure you that it's not as mundane as you make it sound, and I personally don't think you believe it's as simple as you described either. As for carrying a gun, you have every right to do so and unlike other commenters it doesn't really worry me (as I'm also assuming you have a CCW and have had to go through safety courses and multiple extensive background checks).

Just because it hasn't been in the top ten. And I'm taking your word for it, because it really makes no difference, does not mean it is a safe job. Police officers are targets just because of the job they do.

Don't listen to Matt,he feels this way because of his past dealing with police. (Of corse Matt does no wrong)

Matt-You always like to point out that all your posts are based on facts. Well obviously you haven't done your research this time. According to the following website: http://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/the-10-most-dangerous-jobs-in-america/#comments Police Officers are #10 on their list: "10. Police officers (18.0) — In 2010, there was a nearly 40% increase in line-of-duty deaths among U.S. law enforcement." For this article they were using information from the BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics). This only talks about FATALITIES at work. Not stress related health effects on Officers and their families. Nor does it talk about the health effects on people that work odd shifts do to missing sleep or lack of quality sleep. Take a look at what these officers have had to respond to lately, a 3 year old killed at an accident and then attending the funeral for her and a tree trimmer dying a horrific death not to mention all the stuff that doesn't make the news! For the record, traffic stops and domestic calls are the deadliest. There are also plenty of work related injuries that cause permanent and sometimes career ending injuries. I am glad to see that you finally are admitting that not all of Shelby officers are corrupt like you used to say, but do not act like what they do is not dangerous. They also have to worry abut the legal ramifications of their job and bloggers that make comments without having ALL the information.

yata yata yata Matt wow you got a lot of time on your hands LOL kinda of a waste eh

Matt-I think that it is interesting that when someone points out that your information is wrong, you choose to go back on the attack. I agree that all driving jobs are dangerous, as well as anyone driving down the road. I also agree that in any job there are "bad apples". You cannot name 1 job that does not. That would be an interesting proposition to have 3 property owners, a board representative and a union representative. You can't get this or the past 2 boards to agree on proper procedures, political appointees or favors let alone how someone does their job. I understand that you have a HUGE chip on your shoulder where the police are concerned. You need to understand that the bad apples do lose there jobs (and you know it). I don't know what you think goes into hiring a Police Officer. They don't reach into a hat and pull out a name and say ok. You have to go through background checks, they call every job, all your neighbors, all your family, credit checks, school records, multiple interviews, a test, as well as physical and mental evaluations before you get hired. The officers that I have met have truly wanted to help people. They volunteer lots of time for community events as well as getting paid to do a difficult job. Then you have people like you blogging nastiness. Are you going to complain about veteran's getting a pension for life? And I want to know what you call a bully? Some one that doesn't say please before they arrest you?

So let me get this straight, you want a panel comprised mainly of individuals who know next to nothing about the way police work is done to determine the validity of complaints against officers? I don't like all police officers, some are real jerks, but most of the complaints against the majority of officers are ridiculous and not even worth the time it takes to write them down. Officers answer to their superiors, just like most other jobs in this country. And yes I would worry if my husband was a logger or fisherman, but the danger in police work is always there. I don't think my husband has the only dangerous job, but the danger in his job is always there and can't be avoided. He loves his job and I have never heard him complain about the danger, but like him, I know there could be a night he may not come home. I don't ask for sympathy or any other considerations because of it, I simply accept it. But to hear people downplay the danger of the work he does really angers me. And I understand that most people who drive run dangers of not returning to their family, but to imply that an officers job is just as dangerous as most people who drive during rush hour is just plain silly!

And as far as pensions go, most police jobs are 25 and out for patrol officers. Meaning they are forced out of their jobs around age 50. For someone who has worked a police job for 25 years, what do you want them to do after? Yes, many find other jobs, but most PATROL officers (not your LT, SGT, CPT or CHIEF) have difficulty because of age finding a job in an area that they have worked in their entire life. And most contribute to their own pensions...

You Guys can debate all you want. Being an average citizen of Shelby Twp., who works and pays all his taxes..........I find the police very little help to me. I have never had any of my stolen items returned, Or compensation for damage, got no breaks at traffic stops, and have been drained of a lot of money when my kids screwed up.
No Sympathy from me for their chosen careers. The police gamble with their lives the moment they become Police. Since they have never come through for me...I say what comes around, goes around!

We can go back and forth until we are blue in the face, and at this point I've spent much more time on this discussion than I had originally planned. That being said, everyone has their own opinions (that's what makes discussion so interesting and easy to get pulled in to). I don't expect to change anyone elses, nor should they expect to change mine. We all base ours off of our life experiences. If this panel you are talking about was trained in police procedure and had an understand of the inner workings of the job, I believe it could be useful (but like most things, to a certain degree). I don't know what job you do, or did, but I don't think you would necessarily want someone coming in (who really has no clue what your job entails) and telling you what you are doing wrong and responsible for your discipline. But as you state, the police are there for the public and, to a certain degree, should be held accountable by the public. You are correct, there are "bad apples" in every job and it's unfortunate that these people tend to be the ones that people associate with job instead of the good ones. As for protecting eachother, I think it's a mentatlity of the job. When you rely so heavily upon your co-workers to be there to help you when needed, it's really hard to be "the rat," even if it may be the right thing to do (and it doesn't excuse them from protecting them either). I will be the first to say that my opinion is biased and I understand the limitations of that.

Mike-I am sorry that this happened to your son. I understand the frustration as a parent when our children do things that they shouldn't or hang with the "wrong" kids. That being said, if you son was in any other city the same thing would have happened. We had a friend who went to court in a different jurisdiction and there were kids who were busted with a joint (1st offense) and they had to pay $1000 and lost their driver's licenses. If they didn't want to do that it would have been jail. It has nothing to do with living in Shelby. I never look at police and fire as what I get out of them. I hope I never have to call them ever! I look at it like when I pay my car or house insurance. I would rather be taking a vacation with that money, but then what would I do if something really bad happened and I suddenly needed it and it wasn't there? Or where would I be if I went for the cheapest (least coverage) available-I would be getting what I paid for.

Don’t blame the Police!
Blame the liability laws. If the Officer didn’t follow through with the proper protocol then he would be the next one to be sued.
My friends and I had our beer taken away by the Police more than once when we were younger. We were then told to get home and not be out again that night.
It’s not the same as when we grew up. Nobody ever made a big deal like they do today.

Katy,
Matt doesn’t care about facts. He just gets off on peoples reactions. It’s his little game that he likes to play. It’s nothing more than an old broken record drolling over and over.

Matt-Do you know how many kids in Shelby go to parties and are caught with alcohol and/or drunk and don't get in trouble (even though they have no "connections" with the police)? TONS! If the kids aren't getting caught regularly for this and they don't cause a problem (run away, be rude or belligerent to the officers) their parents are called. The police are more concerned with finding out how they procured the alcohol and where they are/what they are doing at the time they are found with it. The only reason why you even know that the Sheriff was called to pick up his kid was because he is the Sheriff! There could be many of your neighbors that have received phone calls about their kids, but it doesn't make the paper. The kids that get tickets at house parties either are causing problems, the homeowner is causing a problem or this is a place that the police are at frequently. If the kid has had prior contact with the police, they will get a ticket. Again, you try to make everything into an "us against them". Like Katy said: there are bad cops, but there are WAY more good cops trying to do a difficult job. I wish I knew what you do for a living so I could follow you around and tell you what you are doing wrong even if I don't know anything about your line of work. It does make me wonder if you have a job since all you seem to do is "research" and blog about things you have only part of the information and NONE of the training to evaluate it professionally.

I think those who said Shelby's Police do nothing would be singing a different tune if they were in the local Dollar Store the other day when it was robbed at gun point. Or maybe the McDonalds where the employees were locked in the freezer over night.

SharonP, enlighten me, did the police prevent the dollar tree and the McDonald's fom being robbed? I beleive they arrived after the fact took reports, investigated and then caught the crook..... no wait, caught the crook in one of these instances, the other guy is still out there available to rob again. The most likely scenerio where I will need an officer will be to direct traffic around my car after an accident, take a report and a copy of my own video should I be robbed and to take away the body if I should be robbed while home.
I appreciate this available service enough to stay and pay my property taxes in Shelby Twp. But not enough to have my taxes increased to cover the defined pensions.

In most cases the Police camp out at the Dollar Store and McDonald’s on a full time basis and wait for a crime to happen but on these particular occasions they were placed on the Supervisors private security task force at the time these crimes took place.

I'm sure the Shelby Township Police enjoy you pointing out their incompetence Mr. Berz. They camp out at McDonalds and Dollar Tree, eh? Don't insult the police depatment of a township you do not pay taxes or live in.

Will I be going to jail now? LOL!!!
I’m sure the Police are smarter than you and can tell when some one is being facetious. Don’t be so narrow minded!

Matt, every time I read your comments, you make it seem like Shelby Township is SUCH a corrupt place to live in. Why does everything in your comments have to deal with your idea of 'bad politics' in this area?

Would love to know why 22 Mile Rd. at Shelby Rd. was blocked off by police today at around 415PM.