Proposal to put 'beat cops' back on the streets of downtown Ann Arbor put on hold by DDA
Newcombe Clark made a push today to bring back beat cops in Ann Arbor, but his proposal lacked support from other members of the Downtown Development Authority.
Clark, a downtown resident and former president of the Main Street Area Association, proposed having the DDA set aside $60,000 a month into a contingency fund to pay for downtown police officers at a level of service yet to be determined.
Newcombe Clark
Until last summer, a handful of police officers were assigned to walk or bicycle downtown. But as part of a restructuring of the Ann Arbor Police Department, those patrols were eliminated. Some say panhandlers have become more aggressive since the city pulled beat cops off the street.
Clark said the city has no current plans or timeline for reinstating the service. In fact, the city has proposed eliminating as many as 20 more positions in the police department starting in July to balance its budget, though City Council members are working to reduce that number.
Clark proposed drawing from the $750,000 the DDA set aside three years ago for funding the Howell-to-Ann Arbor commuter rail service. He said $335,000 of that remains unspent and likely won't be used before its expiration in June 2011 because rail stations have not been constructed, rail improvements have not been made, and millions of operational dollars need to be identified before commuter rail service is ready for implementation.
"This is not a request for funding," Clark said. "This is a reallocation of restricted funds that are likely to become unrestricted."
Tony Lupo of the Main Street Area Association spoke in favor of bringing back beat cops, saying they have been gone for too many months and the DDA should fund the positions to support a vibrant and safe downtown.
Clark said the service of the beat cops — or perhaps more accurately the service of an ombudsman to the downtown — has been sorely missed.
"Now I can't say yet if it's something that is needed, I can't say yet if it's something that we should fund," he said. "But in light of pending layoffs relative to the budget, I think it's important that we at least start building a contingency as we explore whether or not there is a need, and whether or not it's something that we should pay for, and what that may look like."
The majority of his peers on the DDA governing board quickly voted down his proposal today, though they indicated they think the idea is worth taking back to committee. The lack of cost estimates or crime statistics — and need for more discussion — were cited as reasons for not giving final approval to the idea just yet.
"I think there needs to be a lot of homework done," said DDA board member Leah Gunn. "There's a lot of data that needs to be collected and a great deal of discussion that needs to be held."
Gunn suggested the matter go to the DDA's Partnerships Committee for more detailed discussion. She stressed she's not necessarily against beat cops, but thinks the proposal needs more work.
DDA board member Sandi Smith, who also serves on the Ann Arbor City Council, said she's willing to explore the idea, but would not support taking back grant funding for commuter rail.Â
Mayor John Hieftje, who is self-appointed to the DDA's governing board, called Clark's proposal premature. He noted crime is on a downward trend in Ann Arbor and said beat cops might not be the best way to police downtown.
"I think this is incredibly premature," he said, noting more dialogue is needed with the city's police chief. "If you're going to make a decision how to police the downtown, I think you should be talking to the police department."
"I think it's putting the cart before the horse," agreed DDA board member Joan Lowenstein, a former City Council member.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
Comments
ACertainMan
Fri, May 7, 2010 : 11:40 a.m.
No... They'd much rather have the NWO Police State cameras ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klqv9t1zVww ) on every corner. They already have traffic lights that turn, based on your speed. No... Red Howard might write a bicycle rider up for breaking the traffic laws and we can't have that... Of course the Red Howards of the world are long gone... sadly. Actually Mr. Howard would've probably given you a warning first.
Hunterjim
Fri, May 7, 2010 : 8:11 a.m.
I do not like the idea of DDA wanting to pay to play...that is if they pay extra money they will get their beat officers back, and own the right to dictate how they are used. If the Police Department feels it is the best use of their limited resources to put officers back on foot downtown, it should be their call. The city has decided over the last 10 years to reduce the number of officers and staff. The inability to keep beat officers is a DIRECT result of that reduction. You get what you pay for. I will continue to say, the city of Ann Arbor needs to get their priorities straight, take care of the basic's first...safety, infrastructure, water and sewer. then the feel good projects. The city has the money to take care of these basics, but continues to fund the "feel goods" instead. I will do my part in November to start to change this. VOTE!
Dalouie
Thu, May 6, 2010 : 5:26 p.m.
The idea to let the Police Department decide one, if there is a problem and two, what needs to be done, is a good one.
AAbornandraised
Thu, May 6, 2010 : 8:04 a.m.
As one who worked in downtown for 20 years I can tell you I always welcomed seeing a policeman on a bike or on foot. Walking to and from the bank weekly I welcomed their presence. I actually stopped one once to thank him for his presence. I'm very sorry to learn they are no longer there. I now live in Hamburg Township and agree with eJohn. I will not ride the train. There will not be enough riders to support its operation. We are not Portland Oregon so quite bringing ideas to Ann Arbor from a city 5x our size. Ann Arbor to Detroit yes, but Howell to Ann Arbor is a joke. Bring back the 'beat' cops and make the downtown safer again. I used to walk through the park at the corner of Liberty and Division. NO WAY would I do it anymore.
Mike58
Thu, May 6, 2010 : 7:39 a.m.
"I think there needs to be a lot of homework done," said DDA board member Leah Gunn. "There's a lot of data that needs to be collected and a great deal of discussion that needs to be held." Members of the DDA may want to take some time and walk around downtown AA some afternoon and collect that data first hand. In the early spring many of the panhandlers were so aggressive they would block your path in an effort to collect money. I have seen other individuals stand on the street and curse pedestrians as they pass by. I work downtown and am witness to this on a daily basis. For this reason I don't normally bring my family to downtown AA. There are many other fine restaurants in the surrounding area and I can always shop online. I love AA and used to enjoy strolling downtown but not anymore. If people get a perception that the downtown area is not safe it will be hard to convince them to spend their money there.
pseudo
Thu, May 6, 2010 : 7:18 a.m.
how 'bout this (sarcasm intended): we call in the national guard for this scary issue? I don't think that DDA pushing specific police tactics is a good idea given their lack of expertise in both crime fighting AND determining what is actually a crime. Ann Arbor votes this guy in to City Council and it will complete the conversion of Ann Arbor to a town run by DINOs.
racerx
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 11:33 p.m.
Premature? Are you serious? Isn't this the same council and Mayor who proposed a ban on cell phones, even while riding a bike, but they couldn't site any particular fractions of "texting while biking" but was ready to implement an unnecessary law and outages fine! At least witht he pressence of beat cops, patrons would have the perception of being safe. Again, has any council memeber been downtown when the bars let out? A couple of weeks ago while city cops were busting up an end of the school year party on Greenwood, some one pulls a gun and shoots it near a bar on Liberty. The cart before the horse. And this is an intellectural town?
Citizen
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 11:27 p.m.
Just wait until one of the DDA board members (Gary Boren, Newcombe Clark, Russ Collins, Leah Gunn, Jennifer Hall, Roger Hewitt, John Hieftje, Joan Lowenstein, John Mouat, Keith Orr, Sandi Smith, and John Splitt) gets mugged by a Necto patron or that crazed arsonist burns down their lovely office (150 S. Fifth Avenue, Suite 301 Ann Arbor, MI 48104) then there will probably be helicopters patrolling downtown! LOL Plus all of you that say the city has gotten safer recently, show me the stats... annarbor.com just released an article about crime stats almost double of what they were last year for the same period, and on a steady rise for the past couple weeks... also GO OUTSIDE and maybe you too can experience crime in Ann Arbor at its finest. Then get back to me :) Ypsi haters can keep quiet too, everyone knows your town sucks and is crime infested stop posting on Ann Arbor websites you wannabes
logo
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 11:11 p.m.
In a related article Mr. Stanton says either the Mayor or the city administrator has to serve on the DDA. This is premature, the police chief and the PD should make this call. Clark is still upset his development failed.
eJohn
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 10:15 p.m.
As a downtown employee, we NEED the beat cops back! And, as a resident of Pinckney, I can tell you we DON'T need a commuter train from Livingston County. Spend the money on the police instead of wasting it on a dream of a commuter rail that no one will ever ride. Does anyone *really* think a train from nowhere to nowhere is a good idea?? Does the DDA do *anything* that benefits anyone??? They always seem to be on the side of less services and more costs at every turn. Maybe they should be renamed the Get Out of Downtown Authority, 'cause that sure seems to be their motive behind everthing they do.
bunnyabbot
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 9:56 p.m.
Mayor John Hieftje, who is self-appointed to the DDA's governing board, called Clark's proposal premature ~ oh, you mean like a rail from Howell to A2 which not enough riders would use to make it a good way to spend money "I think it's putting the cart before the horse," agreed DDA board member Joan Lowenstein, a former City Council member. (isn't that what the DDA and CC do often? as a downtown business owner I say bring back the beat cops, we need them
phdeez
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 9:49 p.m.
I would like to see beat cops downtown again. I spent a lot of time downtown in the last few years, and thought that the cops on bike/foot had a good handle on the neighborhood. @ Lifelong A2, Clark did not argue that beat cops would solely deal with panhandlers (which I think have become more numerous and aggressive recently), but instead the article cited that as one aspect of how the loss of beat cops have affected downtown. I have zero knowledge or experience with law enforcement, but I would argue that criminals know which section of downtown are likely to be un-patrolled, and additional beat cops could disrupt this.
Stephen Landes
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 9:48 p.m.
Maybe downtown isn't the place for beat cops: how about in the student areas south of campus where there has been a rash of incidents including fires and the murder of one student as the result of one of those fires (I consider that death during commission of a felony as murder). The DDA is very willing to spend money on speculative studies, signage of dubious merit, and other pet projects. One would think that keeping their business members' customers safe would be a bit higher on their list of priorities.
Lifelong A2
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 8:47 p.m.
Clark's proposal to use sworn police officers to address pandhandling is an expensive over-reaction to a minor nuisance, particularly in light of the fact that crime has fallen. His proposal to use money slated for mass transit is even more disturbing. Pandhandling prevention vs. mass transit: the choice is clear, and Clark made the wrong choice. The DDA deserves better.
Peregrine
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 8:27 p.m.
There's a big difference between actually being safe and whether a place seems safe. We can judge whether a place is actually safe based on statistics. And the article cites the mayor saying that Ann Arbor has gotten safer recently. Whether a place seems safe to any given person is largely based on how they perceive people who look different than they do and perhaps their own biases and prejudices. mugwump (up above) sees some people as "freaks" and/or "down and out" and assumes they're "likely to rob a person". But "likely" means the odds are at least 50% that each of those freakish people will rob someone. Now that doesn't seem likely, does it?
trace_effect
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 7:50 p.m.
There needs to be beat cops, just today I saw some guy getting the living crap kicked out of him before people realized what was going on. The perpetrators came back, and hit him again, almost striking several bystanders. They were lucky I wasnt carrying my FN 5.7.
mugwump
Wed, May 5, 2010 : 6:57 p.m.
I think Clark's idea of putting cops on the "beat" with that money is a terrific one! I just took my son to the 826 MI tutoring center on Liberty and couldn't believe what a freak show it was down there. So many down and out looking people there, people who frankly who would be very likely to rob a person. I told my husband that I do not plan to go downtown anytime soon because it doesn't seem safe. I know so many of the liberal Ann Arbor types will write me off as reactionary. They will until they get robbed or beaten up. Only then will they change their opinion on the subject.