NEWS

Sheriff: Traffic stops in St. Joseph County nearly doubled in 2021

Jef Rietsma
Special to the Journal

St. Joseph County Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said the agency responded to 1,517 more calls in 2021 than it did in 2020.

That detail and a number of other tidbits were shared with county commissioners during their monthly meeting Tuesday, when Lillywhite gave his department’s annual report for calendar year 2021.

Lillywhite covered several areas that he felt were noteworthy:

  • 4,498 traffic stops, an increase from 2,783 in 2020.
  • 2,059 citations were issued (1,488 the year before).
  • 286 misdemeanor citations (430).
  • 2,144 verbal warnings (1,130).
  • 339 accidents without injuries (308).
  • 160 accidents with injuries (115).
  • Four fatal crashes (eight).
  • 62 hit-and-run incidents (64).
  • 55 drunken drivers (58).
  • 478 car-deer collisions (399).

Regarding the number of verbal warnings, Lillywhite said he supports deputies opting to employee such measures as circumstances warrant.

“It’s trying to educate drivers and trying to understand, to let these people be educated instead of always being given a citation, he said.

Lillywhite covered the department’s Marine Patrol Division. He said the department spent its most time – 107 hours – on Klinger Lake. Corey Lake was the second heaviest-patrolled lake in 2021, with 95 hours of Marine Patrol Division presence.

Prior to delving information from Animal Control, Lillywhite acknowledged the countless volunteer hours provided by Mendon Township’s Loralee Knepper.

Regarding the department’s Corrections Division, Lillywhite said the jail took in 1,690 felonies, 1,769 misdemeanors and 276 civil infractions. In all, 3,735 people were admitted to the jail in 2021, he said.

Male inmates outnumbered the number of women admitted on a 2:1 ratio, Lillywhite added.

The department last year extradited seven wanted men. Three were in Illinois, and one each from Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky and Mississippi. Total cost of extraditions was $4,021.

Lillywhite, who has served as sheriff since February 2020, acknowledged the department’s staff for its dedication to the county.

Lillywhite