It is the largest public safety department in the nation, with over 250 sworn officers.

The Kalamazoo Police Department and Kalamazoo Fire Department were merged in the 1980s with the goal of saving significant tax payer money while increasing the amount of police and fire protection for its citizens.

The difficult effort of the merger of the departments along with the successes was even noted by the United States House of Representatives in the Congressional Record.

[2][3][4] In 1995 a grand jury was convened to investigate missing cash and contraband from Kalamazoo Public Safety's evidence room.

[5][better source needed] Although much of the evidence and investigation remains secret and the US Attorney declined to prosecute, the city attorney at the time has publicly acknowledged that the incident happened[6] In 2013, the department received the results of a year-long, independent study it commissioned on racial targeting.