Police manpower decreases in most Washtenaw County agencies, and crime largely follows suit
![080213_crime_scene_CS-4[2].jpg](http://www.annarbor.com/assets_c/2013/08/080213_crime_scene_CS-4[2]-thumb-646x431-149857.jpg)
Ann Arbor police saw their officer ranks drop by 31 percent from 2003 to 2011, but crime also fell during that period.
Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com
- Related MLive story: Fewer cops, less crime: MLive investigation finds Michigan safer even as police numbers decline
Violent crimes increased in the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction despite the number of deputies growing by more than 7 percent from 2003 to 2011, statistics show.
The increase in crime comes with an influx of more than 10,000 new residents, according to statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Reports of violent crime went from 307 to 430 in the WCSO’s jurisdiction during that time frame, according to the FBI.
Sheriff Jerry Clayton, in office since 2009, said the amount of violent crime has trended down during that time. Statistics from the FBI show 450 total violent crimes in 2009, 461 in 2010 and 430 in 2011.
Even though staffing has remained relatively constant from 2003 to 2011, the WCSO is still below ideal levels in most areas, he said. An added issue is an increase of more than 10,000 people living in the sheriff’s office jurisdiction.
“I think we’re holding our own,” he said. “In most categories, we’ve trended down (since 2009).”
The sheriff’s office is one of the few jurisdictions that saw a dramatic increase in violent crime from 2003 to 2011, and also one of the few that grew. A look at crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows that six out of the 10 Washtenaw County police agencies shrank from 2003 to 2012.
MLive Media Group took a look at crime statistics and police manpower changes from 2003 to 2011 at police agencies around the state in a series of stories published Sunday.
Violent crimes, as gathered by the FBI, are aggravated assault, forcible rape, murder and robbery. Property crimes are arson, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. This is often different than individual states’ definitions of crimes.
Violent crime increased in the jurisdictions of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, Chelsea Police Department, Saline Police Department, University of Michigan Police Department and Pittsfield Township Police Department. For the most part, these increases were negligible, fewer than 10 reports. Property crime fell for every department from 2003-2011.
Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Milan and Northfield Township all saw their departments shrink by more than the statewide average of 9.52 percent. However, Milan and Northfield Township each only lost three officers during that period.
Deputies make do
Violent crime rose in every category but homicide in 2011 compared to 2003 in areas service by the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office.
In the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction, rapes went from 61 reports to 82 from 2003 to 2011. In the same time period, robberies went up from 51 to 74 and reports of aggravated assault went up from 189 to 270, according to the FBI. Homicides went down from six to five from 2003 to 2011.
Jerry Clayton
Clayton said staffing levels in the sheriff’s office are above the minimum in each municipality served by deputies, but aren’t ideal.
“Although we try to be proactive and do other things to engage the community in a way that changes the community to make it less receptive to crime, at a certain level of staffing you’re still in reactive mode,” he said.
The fact that the total number of deputies now is higher than in 2003 isn't necessarily reflective of what happened during the 2003-2011 time frame. Clayton said the number of deputies decreased and then increased again, citing the fact that Ypsilanti Township once had as many as 44 deputies, dropped down to 31 and is now at 35.
He said deputies work hard to make sure people know the sheriff's office is responsive to their calls and wants to work with them to prevent crime.
"We like to talk about how numbers are important, but the perception people have about their community is equally important," he said.
Decreases in police and crime in Ann Arbor
The sheriff’s office might have kept a fairly stable department from 2003 to 2011, but other departments have had to make do with much less.
The most dramatic decreases came in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, where those departments lost more than 30 percent of their full-time officers. However, both violent crime and property crime decreased during that time frame in those areas.
John Seto
For instance, in Ann Arbor there were 299 violent crimes in 2003 but that number dropped to 266 in 2012 — a decrease from 3.2 violent crimes per 1,000 people to 2.3. This coincided with a decrease in full-time officers from 161 to 111 during that same time frame. Ann Arbor has 119 full-time officer positions in 2013.
Ann Arbor police Chief John Seto said there are a myriad reasons why crime goes up or down, but collaboration with other area police departments, using technology in effective ways and working with the community have all helped make AAPD officers more efficient in the last decade.
“Some of the initiatives we’ve done in collaboration with other areas and working with the community have had impact on the reduction of crime,” he said. “This county has a very good working relationship between all police agencies; we’re often meeting and working together to solve crimes that have a big impact on statistics.”
Ann Arbor is the only Washtenaw County municipality with 2012 FBI crime statistics publicly available. The numbers used for other Washtenaw County jurisdictions are for 2011.
Smaller population, fewer bars impact decrease in Ypsilanti crime
In Ypsilanti, the number of officers shrank from 39 officers in 2003 to 26 in 2011, a 33.3 percent decrease, the largest percentage in Washtenaw County. But, crime also decreased.
The fall in crime also came with a decrease in population. There were 197 violent crimes reported in 2003 and that number fell to 162 in 2011, according to FBI stats.
However, the number of violent crimes per 1,000 people only fell from 8.6 to 8.3. That can be partly attributed to a decrease in population from 22,883 to 19,420, according to the FBI stats.
Detective Sgt. Tom Eberts said part of the reason Ypsilanti’s violent crime numbers are down in the last few years is the decrease in bars in the city’s downtown area.
“Back then we had more bars downtown and a lot more people out three or four nights a week,” he said, “which led to an increase in assaults, larcenies and robberies as well. (Those bars closing) is part of the reason why things like assaults have come down.”
Eberts said he and Chief Amy Walker spoke about the decrease in manpower and crime and attributed those drops to the falling population and relationships with the community, in addition to the decrease in bars downtown.
Ypsilanti residents are generally not afraid to call the police, and there’s a good relationship between the police and many city residents, Eberts said. He mentioned neighborhood watch groups and volunteers who patrol neighborhoods as vital to the department’s work.
Eberts said he doesn’t believe more crimes are going unreported as staffing has decreased.
Walker has also worked on scheduling officers during the more active times for police, generally during the night shifts.
“We’ve got a lot of people working really hard here, and we solve a lot of crimes,” he said. “And, some of it is with the help of the community, and community policing comes into play there.”
Population changes can definitely have an impact on crime, said Matt Harshberger, Pittsfield Township public safety director.
Matt Harshberger
Pittsfield Township police stayed relatively stable since 2003, actually hiring more officers between 2003 and 2011, going from 26 to 38 officers. Harshberger said that number is 40 in 2013 and attributed the constant level of police staffing to a public safety-specific reserve fund that the department has used.
However, despite this stability, violent crime rose from 2003 to 2011 — from 64 reports in 2003 to 84 reports in 2011, according to the FBI. During this time frame, Pittsfield Township grew from 31,970 residents to 34,637 residents, which meant violent crimes per 1,000 people only rose from 2.0 to 2.4 during that time.
“Yes, it would,” Harshberger said when asked if increasing population could be an explaining factor for this increase. He added, “There’s always an ebb and flow with crime statistics, up and down.”
Harshberger added that he usually discusses crime trends as reported through Michigan Incident Crime Reporting. To view a PDF of the township's trends for the last five years through this system, click here.
Both Harshberger and Seto said some of the major changes in policing during the past 10 years center around technology and the theory of community-based policing.
Seto said Ann Arbor officers have been more efficient in recent years because squad cars come equipped with Mobile Data Terminals. These computers allow officers to file reports, do their daily activity logs and write tickets from their cars during their shifts as opposed to working on hours of paperwork.
“That’s one of the changes that has helped us to be more efficient,” he said.
Working together and striking a balance
Ann Arbor and other area departments are also on the Court and Law Enforcement Information System (CLEMIS), which allows many departments to have common systems for police reports and share information much easier. Officials said this allows departments to identify hot spots for crime in their jurisdictions and target their resources there, while also working with other departments on investigations.
There are also countywide police collaborations, such as the SWAT team, crisis negotiation team and mobile field force team.
This collaboration frees up more officers for other duties within their own jurisdictions, Seto said. Partnering with the community, doing the same boots-on-the-ground discussion with residents that has always been expected of investigators, has had a major impact as well, Harshberger said. In Pittsfield Township, officers have been working more and more with community organizations to specifically target their concerns since his arrival in 2009, he said.
“There has been a significant increase in dialogue about problems in the community that we have been more responsive toward,” Harshberger said.
Clayton said the sheriff’s office has been working on engagement as much as enforcement in recent years, which has greatly helped investigators.
Among those strategies is partnering with landlords, Clayton said. He said working with the landlords helps keeps potentially problematic tenants out of properties and keep communities safe.
“We have to be smart about how we deploy our resources, but we also have to be smart about who we partner with,” he said.
Engaging neighborhood watch groups, finding out what residents expect from deputies in regards to the WCSO’s visibility in the community and working with other departments are other ways the sheriff’s office works to partner with the community, Clayton said. He added that many home invasion arrests made by deputies have come from concerned neighbors calling in suspicious activity.
Seto said a balance between community interaction and data gathered by better technology can really help departments.
“The use of technology has to be balanced with the community-policing approach,” he said. “You can’t have one without the other. You can have all the technology in the world, but if you can’t work efficiently with the community or you don’t have that community trust, it’s going to be less impactful.”
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Bcar
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 1:47 p.m.
Good thing MI is a "shall issue" state for concealed pistol permits and that A2 is not able to change that! Someone has to pick up the slack from the police dept being 30% smaller... permit numbers up, crime down.
Justice4all
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 2:26 p.m.
Kyle, how do these numbers compare/relate to the numbers that I got from the sheriff at my NHW meeting a few months ago? That report shows that over the last few years crime is down.
Joe_Citizen
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:54 a.m.
Investing our money in prisons and patrol is not the answer. Everything about our detention systems is bassackwards. We spend $180 minimum per day per prisoner, and we keep making sillier laws to keep them full and forced to build more. How stupid are we as a nation. If we had supervised injection sites and gave drugs away for free then 70% of our prisons would disappear. costing a pennies on the dollar for free drugs. That will take the crime out of it and addicts can get on with their lives without having the rob to get a fix. It is proven that addicts will use, and a nudge from the judge never, never, ever stopped a user from using, so case closed, lets grow up and move on.
JRW
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 2:25 a.m.
"Violent crime rose in every category but homicide in 2011 compared to 2003 in areas service by the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office." This is important and should be highlighted. ************** In addition, separating out EMU crime from Ypsi stats and separating out UM crime from AA stats understates the crime numbers in both of those cities. You can't separate the crime on a campus that is located within a city. Is the crime rate listed in the chart for AA and Ypsi (# per 1,000) inclusive of the student population, or is it just the city residents without the students? Big difference. You can't have it both ways. If you separate out the # of crimes for the universities from the cities, then the city crime RATES need to be calculated without adding in the universities' populations. In AA, that would mean a non-student population of about 114,000 - 40,000 = 74,000. Need clarification. The city populations used in the calculations for the crime rates on the chart should be listed. The universities could also calculate crime rates by using their total enrollments. Why is it missing?
Justice4all
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 2:24 p.m.
Indeed important. What all does the sheriff's office patrol area encompass and are there some of those same issues you mention for Ypsi and AA for the sheriff's office?
phredie
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 10:52 p.m.
The set of articles in today's Ann Arbor.com might attract attention, but the headlines are misleading and the articles themselves are disappointing. Nationally the crime rate has dropped about 19% in the last ten years. Nationally the violent crime rate has dropped 50% and property crime 40% in the last 20 years. (source http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/table-1 ) How does Michigan compare? How many crimes are unreported because there is no man power to solve the crimes or because response time is very slow in some areas? How about the impact on the other duties of public safety officers? Some people responding to the articles credit the changed gun laws and more guns in general. Is there evidence for that? Some of the comparisons make as much sense as finding a connection between the crime rate and the increased fuel efficiency of cars.
Solitude
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 9:09 p.m.
"In Ypsilanti, the number of officers shrank from 39 officers in 2003 to 26 in 2011, a 33.3 percent decrease, the largest percentage in Washtenaw County." YPD had around 66 sworn officers just a few years prior to 2003...that 39 in 2003 is around 40 percent less than 1998 or 1999. Yet, YPD still has one of the highest rates of crimes solved in the entire state, and higher than any agency in the county, according to a list EMU had complied for some class last year.
Justice4all
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 1:55 a.m.
YPD, just like several of the agencies around here have some hardworking and dedicated staff, but clearance rates, FBI data and my chances of winning the lottery are all stats that require much more in-depth analysis and conversation to mean anything at all. I can tell myself that my 1 in 100million chance of winning Powerball means I'm going to win this week and that I'm luckier than all the other 99,999,999 people, but the fact remains I'm still broke. lol
arborarmy
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 9:05 p.m.
Misleading headline. Someone needs to teach the Snooze's editors what it means to "follow suit".
Solitude
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 9:04 p.m.
JJc155, that is not correct.. Law enforcement agencies record the number of crimes that are reported to them by citizens or discovered by officers, regardless of whether an arrest is ever made. The number of crimes for which arrests are made is a different statistic. Crime clearance stats (the number of crimes solved or "cleared" by an arrest) are completely separate from the number of crimes reported.
jjc155
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 7 p.m.
I think that one important issue that I didnt see in the article (maybe I missed it) is that with the decrease in the number of officers on the road, there are less officers to be proactive out on the street which in turn leads to less arrests and an equally "lower" crime rate in certain categories. The area's that are effected are typically the "quality of life" areas that people relate too the most. The guy selling drugs on the corner, the rummy drinking as he walks down the street asking for money, the prostitute hanging out infront of your house/business. Less officers on the street means that typically thoses crimes get put on the back burner while the fewer officers deal with in progress calls and reports. fewer cops making those arrests, that mean more to the neighborhoods and people, and the stats show it as a reduction in crime, because they are not reported unless an arrest is made.
Caring
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 5:47 p.m.
So, if decreasing the number of officers decreases the number of crimes, surely having no officers would mean we would have no crime! And maybe if we eliminate the police phone number there will be fewer emergency calls!
TooT
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 5:45 p.m.
So we have less police officers on the street? Why then are the remaining officers not looking for drug dealers, prostitutes, home invaders and all the various shootings and assaults we read about on a daily basis? Instead they are perched by the side of the road trying to catch hardened criminals who are not wearing their seatbelts. Could it be the seatbelt violations are a quick and easy sixty bucks?
nowayjose
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 4:20 p.m.
Guess what, that's part of their job, like it or not. So your argument is all police should ignore traffic laws because there are more violent criminals to get. Because no matter what, as soon as they arrest one person there's another to take his place. So I'm assuming u are in favor of no traffic enforcement what's so ever. Good idea.
TooT
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 6:39 a.m.
Nowayjose maybe it was the big yellow sign that said "Safety Belt Enforcement Zone. That kind of gave it away!
nowayjose
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 12:13 a.m.
If you're not speaking from experience. How do you know those officers on the side of the road aren't looking for the drug dealers and violent criminals going by? They drive too. Sounds like you're just making presumptions on what the police do.
TooT
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 9:12 p.m.
Nope no ticket here and I always where my belt. I drive for a living and am very used to it. I actually waved at the officer on the way by....lol.
jjc155
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 7:03 p.m.
$60 of which the departments get a paltry amount (think in cents and not dollars).
nowayjose
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 6:36 p.m.
Somebody got a ticket recently.
Richard Smith
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 5:32 p.m.
Well with the increase in drug use it expect the numbers for 2012,2013 and future numbers will be high. There to me is not enough officers patrolling like there use to be in the 90s. Increase the officers increase programs. Some of this has to do with the state also. Judges in my opinion have been giving lighter sentences due to the past prison closings. If I'm wrong on the prison issue please give me information on this subject.
Justice4all
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 1:42 a.m.
I think I remember a story about the rise in Heroin OD's and use in the county just a few weeks ago.
Basic Bob
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 7:24 p.m.
I haven't seen the numbers on the increase in drug use in 2012 and 2013. Care to elaborate?
bunnyabbot
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 5:15 p.m.
Maybe the crime drop is due to the increase in firearm sales for legal permits and the surge in interest for concealed permits. Even criminals are aware there are more people with guns who will use them to protect themselves and their property. Also, if anyone calls 911 and is told by the dispatcher they will TRY to send someone out in Ann Arbor, that tells you there are NOT enough cops during a shift. Nevermind a thief might get away in the meantime who would have easily been apprehended within 15 minutes.
leaguebus
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 8:59 p.m.
Yeh, guys like George Zimmerman?
arborarmy
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 9:08 p.m.
Yeah, because criminals are renowned for their coherent and logical thought processes.
Catherine
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 3:48 p.m.
I agree with Clayton about "the perception people have about their community is equally important." My perception of Ann Arbor is that aggressive/entitled/careless drivers and cyclists know their transgressions will go unperceived and unpunished because there are not enough police on the streets. Property crime like graffiti, on the other hand, is a really big deal and will be met with investigative resources and the full force of the law.
Plubius
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 3:14 p.m.
The fastest way to drive down crime rates is to increase employment rates - and NOT by hiring more police.
Bcar
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 1:51 p.m.
dont worry, Obummer is all over that, NOT.
djacks24
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 2:35 p.m.
So you assume unemployed people eventually revert to committing violent crimes?
OLDTIMER3
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 2:54 p.m.
How about some more recent info like 2012 and 2013?
jjc155
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 6:52 p.m.
if AA.com is using the FBI UCR reports, which is appears that they are, they are typically a couple of years behind.
Mike
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 6:30 p.m.
Michigan has not gotten into the computer age where the department logs onto a computer clicks an icon and properly enters information. An excel file could give them up to date information on each type of crime , location, time of day, open or closed, and other pertinent information. Instead it seems that we must be content with waiting for important information until someone can get to these records in a year or two. I agree that it is misleading to tell people one thing and not be able to verify up to date information.
Dog Guy
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 2:31 p.m.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Mark Twain et al.
Justice4all
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 2:23 p.m.
I heard Sheriff Clayton say at a forum back in the day that crime is not just a police problem, that it's a community problem. Honestly, that's when I started paying attention to all of this kind of stuff. A complex issue as I often work in statistics. A stat is only one piece of a complex equation in most cases. What they should lead to is discussion and more questions. Nice start to a conversation that I hope continues with more information.
Jay Thomas
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 2:09 p.m.
Ann Arbor has lost about a third of its officers under our wonderful Mayor. Ypsi also has a third less officers. At least the County and EMU have more.
djacks24
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 2:33 p.m.
More EMU police. Makes me sleep better. Might as well be overcompensated security guards.
Solitude
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 9:12 p.m.
EMU needed something to do with all those tax dollars that they aren't using to lower tuition.
deadpidgeon
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 2:06 p.m.
The number of cops goes down and crime decreases. These numbers prove that our local police are worthless.
Solitude
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 9:17 p.m.
I'm really tired of seeing people blame crime on poverty. Crime is the result of a lack of respect for other people specifically and society in general, and therefore is committed by people across the economic spectrum. Generations of people have been raised in poverty and did not resort to crime. Some types of crime may be more prevalent in areas of poverty, but plenty of crime is committed by people who have never known poverty.
Basic Bob
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 7:21 p.m.
@Catherine, this is not about police response, it is about poverty and boredom.
Catherine
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 5:05 p.m.
On the other hand, the number of police in Flint is half what it was in 2003, and violent crime has doubled: http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2013/08/since_2003_flint_police_force.html#incart_river_default
cindy1
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 1:49 p.m.
Throughout history, as poverty increases, so do robberies and other crimes. The article's title implies the only cause is fewer police. Any discussion (or article) on this topic should include all of the related sociological events such as hospital and institutional cutbacks, job losses, social worker cutbacks, education cutbacks, etc. A lot for one report, but even a chart or graph would help fully understand the situation.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 8:57 p.m.
@cindy1: Actually long term trends throughout the past 250 years of history are towards ever rising levels of income and decreasing levels of poverty, although that amazing trend may be faltering, see: www.nber.org/papers/w18315 Secondly, there is a long term trend towards a decrease in crime rates, as noted in this excellent historical research paper: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/06/long-term-trend-in-homicide-rates.html#sthash.1hvvSjlY.dpuf "The bottom line is that there has been a big and welcome decrease in homicide rates [and other crime rates] in Europe and America over the past several centuries." So, it would be more accurate to state that throughout history, as poverty decreases, so do robberies and other crimes. A rather optimistic thought for a Sunday afternoon!
Catherine
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 3:58 p.m.
I think the experience of New York City demonstrates that proactive police work lowers crime rates independently of the unemployment/poverty rates and cutbacks in social programs.
DJBudSonic
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 1:13 p.m.
Ann Arbor promotes regionalism in every area but crime statistics. It would be a better reflection of the livability of our community if all crime types from all these reporting departments were added together. There is much talk in the article about cooperation between department, yet we separate the stats?
Justice4all
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 2:15 p.m.
I was thinking the same thing. I'm guessing by this part of the article that there is some way to show all of the area together. "Ann Arbor and other area departments are also on the Court and Law Enforcement Information System (CLEMIS), which allows many departments to have common systems for police reports and share information much easier."
clownfish
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 12:55 p.m.
"Back then we had more bars downtown and a lot more people out three or four nights a week," he said, "which led to an increase in assaults, larcenies and robberies as well. (Those bars closing) is part of the reason why things like assaults have come down." So they put a limit on MJ dispensaries that have no record of attracting crime?
Billy
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 12:28 p.m.
I was looking at michigan crime states just the other day when someone was trying to tell me Pontiac was safe because crime had dropped. I discovered something. The crime rate in Michigan has NOT fallen as much as the rest of the nation, and in some places (pontiac) if you compare them to the entire state, their rates didn't fall. They stayed near the same or went up when COMPARED to other municipalities. Even though crime has fallen in the state....WE are not doing that good compared to the rest of the country. Now....on to everyones favorite game.....STUPID TRICKS WITH STATISTICS... So basically since the crime rate went down when the officer population went down, then CLEARLY the police were responsible for the additional crime, and their departure caused the rate to decline...............man do I hate statistics....
Basic Bob
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 7:19 p.m.
Crime levels increase when the population of young unemployed men rises. Teach a man to fish and he will not only eat better but quit robbing his neighbors.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 12:18 p.m.
It is a very interesting article, thanks @Kyle Feldscher! Some questions and observations: 1) What percentage of crimes reported were actually solved? Has it increased or decreased? For example, when Ann Arbor's Chief Seto says that he doesn't have enough police to be proactive, this is his way of saying he doesn't have enough detectives to solve and follow up on the crimes reported to his department. 2) What percentage of crimes were reported? I have noted a trend towards people not reporting property crimes. The reasons I have heard are typically that it is too hard to get the police to come on a timely basis to take a police report. 3) The last time I looked at these statistics, the entire decrease in property crimes was the result of a decrease in vehicle thefts. All other categories were flat or up. There is a well established national trend towards lower crime rates over time, but if most categories didn't decrease, we are falling behind the national trend. 4) If vandalism and graffiti were included in the property crime statistics, and they are not, property crimes would have increased dramatically. 5) What was the response time of the police to the reports of these violent crimes? Has it increased in duration or decreased? 6) In the case of Ann Arbor, the city's budget for last fiscal year which began July 1, 2011 and ended June 30, 2012 and again for this year's budget mandated that crime rates, crime solving rates and crime response time rates would all be publicly disclosed and benchmarked against similar cities, but it hasn't been done. Why? This would be a good practice and would give the citizens a better view of the effectiveness and adequacy of the investment being made in police services.
OLDTIMER3
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 3:02 p.m.
What good does it do to solve them when the judges just slap their patties for punishment?
Billy
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 12:30 p.m.
If I ever run for political office....I would want you as a consultant Stephen. If YOU run for a political position I can vote for...you've got my vote.
Hugh Giariola
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 12:15 p.m.
Kyle, your headline is misleading, as it suggests that the crime drop is a result of fewer officers.
Basic Bob
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 7:17 p.m.
In one jurisdiction, crime increased 20% while police staffing increased 50%. Would you infer that the rise in crime was caused by the increase in policing???
Billy
Sun, Aug 25, 2013 : 12:32 p.m.
Well actually it's more the "statistics" that suggest that...although you can kind of infer that from the headline too I suppose.