LANSING, Mich — Lansing police say they are closely tracking shots fired calls, with hopes of combating gun violence overall in the city.
In the first 4 months of the year, Lansing police responded to 235 shots fired calls — a slight increase from the 216 calls logged during the same period last year.
Joanne Beam, who lives near Reutter Park, says she hears gunshots far too often.
"Pretty much every weekend,… it's usually at night but last weekend I heard it during the day, " Beam said. "It frightens me for our town."
Lansing Police Chief Rob Backus says the department released its shots fired numbers as part of a broader commitment to transparency and progress.
"When we release our shots fire call number, this is about showing we want progress in all areas related to firearm violence," Backus said.
Backus says the department's response to each shots fired call depends on the nature of the report.
"Just a shots fired call its not supported by additional calls," Backus said. "Most likely that's not going to be an emergency call, it may just be a one officer call to check the area. When you start getting multiple calls, when you start getting reports of people actually seeing someone shooting a firearm, that's when you're going to get in the realm of emergency response with multiple officers."
He added that sending multiple officers to a shots fired call can sometimes mean pulling them away from other duties — and that freeing up officer time could lead to stronger community ties.
"We would love it, instead of responding to shots fired calls because of the number of complaints we get, that we had our officer with more free time," Backus said. "The hope would be the idea if officers are in the neighborhood with un-dedicated tasks, un-dedicated time that there is more of a community policing feel. It's not driving from point A to point B, it's actually being there with a purpose to engage the community."
As the department works to find ways to reduce gun violence, residents like Beam say they are ready for change.
When asked if she wants the gunshots to stop, Beam's answer was simple.
"Yes, yes I do," Beam said.
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