Forsyth Township Police Department ACTIVE volunteers Keith Tellkamp, left, and Rich Johnson stand with the ACTIVE patrol car outside of the Forsyth Township Police Department in Gwinn. ACTIVE, or Adults Committed Toward Implementing Volunteer Efforts, aims to supplement the department’s sworn officers and can perform a variety of functions in the community, from traffic control and property inspections to assisting officers and first responders on scene. (Journal photo by Cecilia Brown)

MARQUETTE — Volunteers contribute much to their communities, even going the extra mile to assist area residents by volunteering with local law enforcement.

An example of this can be found at the Forsyth Township Police Department in Gwinn, which is the only police department in the Upper Peninsula to host a volunteer unit.

Known as Adults Committed Toward Implementing Volunteer Efforts, or, ACTIVE, the volunteer unit aims to supplement the police department’s efforts, organizers said, as the officers cover the largest township in Michigan at around 189 square miles.

“It’s just nice to have them. They build the community relationships and people will call them and say ‘hey this is going on’ or ‘that’s going on,’ and then they relay it to the officers,” said Detective Sgt. Brian Kjellin, interim Forsyth Township police chief. “The big thing is just to have them almost as another set of eyes and ears, so if we can’t be in a certain area and they happen to be riding around and see something, they have a radio, they call us.”

ACTIVE got its start nearly 21 years ago, said ACTIVE volunteer Rich Johnson, who has been with the group since its inception.

“The whole idea back then was to offer a supplemental group of people to assist the officers with a lot of the overflow,” Johnson said.

The group’s members have underwent extensive training, becoming certified in how to use the Law Enforcement Information Network, assist at an accident scene, provide traffic control, gather evidence, fingerprint, perform CPR, use an automated external defibrillator device, the radio systems, the State Records Management System and more.

While the volunteers can do many things, they cannot make traffic stops or arrests, Johnson said.

Currently, ACTIVE has several volunteers who assist first responders and police officers on scene, as well as perform administrative tasks, road patrol, property inspections, school walkthroughs, traffic control for accidents and events, crossing guard duties and more.

“It depends on what the call is, but it can go from nothing more than an assist or to bring a dog to the pound, for example,” ACTIVE volunteer Keith Tellkamp said. “Or it can be taking somebody home that’s had a bad traffic crash, or doing traffic control for the crash itself.”

The volunteer road patrol unit allows volunteers to respond to a call for assistance at a moment’s notice and keep an eye out for suspicious activity, Tellkamp said, noting “the biggest thing we’re going to be looking for is drivers under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, so we’re always on the watch for that.”

“It’s another set of ears and eyes out on the road. Just because I don’t have the ability to stop people and arrest people, doesn’t mean that I don’t have the ability to get the right people there shortly or follow them; and if need be, get their plate number,” Tellkamp said. “We’ll get them stopped, one way or another.”

The road patrol unit also allows Tellkamp to conduct walk-throughs at the schools in the township, as well as property inspections on local homes, which residents can request from the department free of charge.

For Johnson, who has been a resident of area since 1968, his volunteer position provides “a sense of giving back,” he said.

“You like it when you see that it does something to the community,” Johnson said.

Tellkamp, who joined ACTIVE several years ago after retiring and moving to the area from the Lower Peninsula, has found that “there’s a lot of self-gratification in being able to help someone in a time of need.”

“You’re there trying to help the best way you know how,” he said.

While the Forsyth Township Police Department is not currently able to accept additional ACTIVE volunteers, officials said they hope to eventually augment the program in the coming years.

The Forsyth Township Police Department is located at 99 Pine St. in Gwinn and can be reached at 906-346-9224. For more information on the department or ACTIVE, https://sites. google.com/site/forsythppolice/home.

Cecilia Brown can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248.