On January 12^th, 2025, I started my eleventh year as your Chief of Police and will be completing my 38^th year in this noble profession. On behalf of the dedicated men and women of the Shelby Township Police Department, I would like to thank you for your continued support. Traditionally, most police departments administer law enforcement through what is referred to as the “service response model.” Whereby, someone calls the police regarding a problem, or an emergency, and we respond to address it in the best possible way. I felt this was not the best way to provide the most effective form of public safety, but rather it would require community involvement and support for our township to remain one of the safest in the country. It is essential to have a collaboration between our community and law enforcement partners to develop problem-solving strategies to address social and criminal issues affecting our community. We are accomplishing this through our website and social media platforms that allows us to inform the public about the changing trends and events in as close to real time as possible. We have also established a Community Service Unit, whose primary goal is crime prevention through its myriad of programs. Programs such as on-site crime prevention surveys, Citizen’s Academy, Youth Academy, R.A.D. (Self defense for women), annual open house and numerous group presentations on crime prevention measures.

I have come to the realization that the most important thing I can do to ensure this partnership works is to hire the best and brightest people to serve our community. In a day and age where law enforcement applicants are sparse, we have found creative ways to attract and recruit the most talented professionals to our organization.  While other agencies were reducing the number of personnel and services, our department increased our sworn staff from 60 to 85 sworn officers and overall staff to 115 to meet the demands of our growing community and provide more services. Through the unwavering support of the community and the Board of Trustees, we continue to cultivate our officer’s skills through education and training. We will continue to work with the community in developing positive relationships to build enduring solutions through professionalism and treating people with respect. This will ensure that our officers are setting the standard for law enforcement excellence and providing the level of service the community deserves.

There will always be challenges ahead of us, but through collaboration, understanding, patience and creativity from all involved, Shelby Township will meet these challenges in our quest for peace and prosperity.

Respectfully,

Robert J Shelide

“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care” – Theodore Roosevelt