Serious crime in Leelanau County is at its lowest for the decade so far, according to the sheriff’s office’s 2024 annual report.
The total number of index crimes committed in the county last year — including criminal sexual conduct (CSC), assault, and larceny — was 132. There were 76 cases of assault, 35 cases of larceny, and 21 cases of CSC.
This was slightly lower compared to the mean for the last 10 years, which is 144.3 index crimes per year. The number of index crimes was unusually high in 2022 at 174, but it has trended downward since then, with 147 index crimes in 2023 and 132 index crimes last year.
There were no murders, robberies, burglaries, or incidents of unlawfully driving away in an automobile or arson last year, according to the report.
A low-crime year, even by Leelanau County standards. According to the Michigan Incident Crime Reporting annual report from 2022 — the last year before they adopted an online dashboard — Leelanau County had the lowest crime rate by far out of the 10 counties in the northwest Lower Peninsula.
The sheriff’s office has the most expenses of every department listed in the county’s 2025 adopted budget, which was approved in November. According to the annual report that Borkovich presented Tuesday, the department’s expenses for 2024 are about $3.4 million out of the $3.6 million included in the amended 2024 budget, but these numbers are not final.
Most of that money goes to sheriff’s deputies on road patrol and other law enforcement duties. The office’s expenses are down somewhat from last year, when at least $3.675 million was spent by the time the 2023 annual report was presented.
Outside of the index crimes mentioned above, the sheriff’s office was involved in 4,256 activities last year. Outside of 1,650 responses to “miscellaneous calls,” the most frequently occurring items were traffic stops and animal calls, at 443 and 386 activities respectively.
Activity by township included 584 reports in Bingham; 194 in Centerville; 164 in Cleveland; 785 in Elmwood; 192 in Empire; 234 in Glen Arbor; 292 in Kasson; 383 in Leelanau Township; 458 in Leland; 310 in Solon; and 660 in Suttons Bay. So, about half of all activities were in Elmwood, Suttons Bay, and Bingham townships – the ones with the largest populations.
Police also responded to 808 accidents in 2024, which included car/deer collisions, driving while intoxicated, and one fatal car crash in Kasson Township. The most common accident involved property damage. The accidents were much more evenly distributed by townships compared to index crimes and other reported activities.
The annual report also has statistics for the Leelanau County Jail. According to Jail Administrator Todd Roush, the total average daily population of the jail in 2024 was 20 inmates. The average daily population was at its highest in January at 25, and at its lowest in April at 15.
The county sometimes boarded inmates for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and Grand Traverse County, which generated $130,285 in revenue. The jail operated about $70,000 under budget and passed inspection by the Michigan Department of Corrections.
