The road patrol unit’s primary responsibility is exactly as the name implies, patrol. Van Buren Township is a proactive police department which means not only do our Officers respond to complaints but they are actively looking for suspicious circumstances and actions while on patrol.

Other primary responsibilities are to respond to citizens calls,  and traffic enforcement, crime investigations, arrests and numerous other daily duties. Along with standard patrol officers, Van Buren Township also has cross trained officers who along with being police officers are also fire fighters and carry their fire gear with them while on patrol.

To request traffic enforcement please contact:  vbtpolice@vanburen-mi.org

For information on paying a ticket or to schedule a court date visit: Ticket/Court Information

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

The Van Buren Police Department's Detective Bureau is currently staffed with 4 detectives dedicated to investigating crimes occurring in Van Buren Township. Detective’s follow-up on leads, interview victims, suspects and witnesses, gather evidence, and submit cases to either the local or Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. When charges are filed, they also testify during the court proceedings. 

Van Buren Twp Public Safety Divers consist of Police and Fire personnel. They conduct a search, rescue, and recovery operations along the 7 miles of shoreline of Belleville Lake. The Dive Team works together with our Marine Unit.  Most dive operations take place in low to zero visibility. The divers develop a search pattern for a site and then literally dive by touch. They also utilize high tech side-scan sonar and underwater metal detectors.  Police divers work in every division of the Public Safety Department and are called out for Search and Recovery and Evidence Recovery within all water accessways within the Township. 

Evidence Recovery

Divers recover physical evidence such as weapons, stolen property, and vehicles used during the commission of a crime. To protect evidence, it is brought to the surface in a sealed container filled with water from the location. It is then transported to a State Police laboratory for testing. Recovered weapons can include handguns, rifles, shell casings, knives, and more. Divers have recovered many vehicles in the last five years. The vehicles ended up in the water as the result of accidents or suspects dumping them in an attempt to hide evidence.

Search & Recovery

Our Public Safety Divers work in a search and recovery mode to find an accident or crime victim lost in Belleville Lake. We work with neighboring dive teams from Metro Airport, Wayne County, and Washtenaw County Sheriffs Department when extended operations occur on Belleville Lake or one of the many retention ponds in our Township limits. 

Training

All members of the team are trained and are certified, public safety divers. They keep their skills sharp with intense monthly training that requires diving with a blacked-out mask to test decision making in zero visibility conditions. Dive skills and knowledge are continually tested by creating high-stress situations above and below water to ensure divers are always ready for actual dive operations.

The Van Buren Township Honor Guard Unit is a ceremonial unit of highly trained Van Buren Officers committed to high standards of ceremonial duties.

Those duties include:

• Funerals
• Special Occasions
• Memorial Day Events
• 4th of July Events
• Parades
• Community Events

Honor Guard units must comply with many different rules and movements when performing their duties. Crisp clean uniforms, coordinated and exact movements, and a cohesiveness that demands attention. To understand just how exact each piece and movement is take a look at the manual used by the United States Air Force Honor Guard.

The Van Buren Township Honor Guard unit's upcoming events will be posted here and on our Facebook page.

The Van Buren Township Public Safety Dispatch Center is the hub of the Public Safety Department.

Dispatchers are responsible for directing emergency personnel and equipment to the correct place in the quickest time possible. Handling over 10,000 911 calls on average every year, the dispatch center is a department that is constantly in motion.

Van Buren Township utilizes the Michigan Public Safety Communication System or MPSCS, radio system for it’s communications. The 800 MHz digital system is one of the largest public safety communications systems in North America. It has 244 towers, over 62,000 radios and covers an area in excess of 59,000 Sq. miles. 

Van Buren Township Public Safety is a member of CLEMIS. CLEMIS provides the software that runs our Computer Aided Dispatch or CAD software as well as our records management system or RMS. This software allows our dispatchers to enter information into CAD that the officers can see in their cars. The system is a two way system which means that the officers can enter information that dispatch can see as well. The vehicles are also equipped with VLS or Vehicle Locator Systems which allows dispatch to see where each vehicle is thus allowing them to dispatch the closest personnel possible.

In addition to the 10,000 plus 911 calls, the dispatch center also handles over 50,000 non-emergency calls per year.

Special Operations Team / Crisis Negotiating Team

In addition to Patrol and Investigative Van Buren Township Police is a long standing member of the Western Wayne County Special Operations Team and the Crisis Negotiating Team.

This consortium consists of specially trained police officers from our department and nine other agencies to include, Canton Twp, PlymouthCity, PlymouthTwp.WayneCity, NorthvilleCity, Northville Twp, LivoniaCity, and Redford Twp.

This team is deployed to high risk incidents that are above and beyond the capabilities of patrol or investigative personnel. This is to include but not limited to:

• Barricaded Gunman
• Hostage Situations
• Active Shooter Incidents
• Dignitary Protection (Presidential Visits)
• Suicidal Situation

This Team is staffed with the latest equipment and vehicles along with highly trained personnel and provides these resources to these communities that would not be able to otherwise staff or be cost prohibited.

Our patrol officers also patrol Belleville Lake during the summer months. 

Patrol Lieutenants
Lt. Mark Buckberry
Lt. Marc Abdilla

Detective Bureau Lieutenant
Lt. Ken Floro

ACCREDITATION
In February 2022, the Van Buren Police Department earned its Accreditation status through the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, an accomplishment held by only 42 law enforcement agencies out of 583 in the State of Michigan. The Michigan Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, created by the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police (MACP), designed this program for agencies to meet the standards of procedure that reflect the best in the industry. This is the first time that the Department has earned its Accreditation status, and will continue to pursue it by recertifying every three years.