Dearborn Crime Totals Show Downturn in 2012

Crime in Dearborn is down so far in 2012, according to statistics released recently by the .

Between Jan. 1 and April 30, police saw a 10.4 percent drop in Part A crimes in 2012 as compared to 2011. A total of 2,060 in that category were reported this year; last year, that number was 2,030.

Part A crimes include auto theft, larceny from vehicles, robbery, assault and battery, breaking and entering, malicious destruction of property, narcotic offenses and shoplifting.

All but one of the department’s eight beats showed a drop.

Beat 8 showed a 20.5 percent increase in Part A crimes from 2011 to 2012. That beat is defined by the Southfield Freeway on the east, Michigan Avenue on the north, Military and Monroe on the west, and Outer Drive and Dartmouth on the south.

Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad attributed the rise in crime in Beat 8 mostly to car-related thefts.

The largest drops–each showing a decrease of more than 20 percent–were seen in Beat 5 (the neighborhoods west of Outer Drive and north of Michigan Avenue), Beat 6 (, and the ); and Beat 3 (residential and business areas south of Michigan Avenue and west of I-94).

Chief Haddad said that a big push was made for patrolling the mall and colleges in recent months, resulting in large drops in shoplifting and car-related thefts.

The statistics contrast late 2011 trends, which saw increases in Part A crimes.

However, despite the overall drops in crime, reports of breaking and entering were steady or up in all beats in the first four months of 2012 as compared to 2011.

In terms of overall numbers, crime is the highest in Dearborn's northeast neighborhoods (Beats 1 and 2, north of Michigan Avenue and east of the Southfield Freeway). Though each beat saw a drop in crime, more than 900 Part A crimes total were committed in that area in the first four months of 2012.

Conversely, the city's south end–including residential neighborhoods and industrial and business areas east of I-94 and Schaefer Road–had the lowest number of overall Part A crimes, with a total of 91 between Jan. 1 and April 30.

In response to the consistently high number of home break-ins, Haddad that the downturn in the economy has resulted in unparalleled levels of would-be criminals.

“This is not the same crime situation that Dearborn had five years ago,” he said. “Law enforcement and public safety have never seen the issues we’re seeing right now. That’s why it’s so important to see why we continue to develop our police department.”

Part A Crimes in Dearborn (Jan. 1-April 30)

Note: See corresponding map for exact beat locations.