Police Chief Discusses Crime Statistics At Community Awareness Meeting

More than 70 Dearborn residents gathered Monday night at St. Kateri Catholic Church to hear the latest crime statistics from Police Chief Ronald Haddad and other officers as part of a Community Awareness program that will take place in various locations across the city.  

According to Haddad, overall crime in the city has decreased by 6.95 percent, but there are areas where an increase has been noted. 

One of the patrol areas that have seen an increase is in the southern section of Dearborn, which shares a boundary with Detroit where the number of Part A crimes have risen from 248 to 271, in a year-to-date comparison from last year. 

Part A offenses were described as those being the most serious, such as robbery, home invasion and other crimes that directly affect an individual.

"Though we have seen this increase, it has to be remembered that many times it is the same person or group that are causing the problems," Haddad told those gathered. "With the nature of criminals now, the ability of them to move about the city and they cause a lot of problems."

An area that saw the greatest reduction in crime is the patrol area that includes the shopping districts contained along Mercury Drive at Ford Rd. The drop, Haddad said, is directly related to increased enforcement and in the way that the courts handle shoplifters.

"We went to the court and said we know that it will cause more work for them but we would like to see bonds set for those we arrest for shoplifting," Haddad said. "In the past, the person would be given a citation and then released. But now they are arrested, face a judge and are given a $400 bond."

Haddad stressed that those being taken into court are not, "little Jimmy stealing a candy bar."

"We have had 632 people arrested on shoplifting charges and they are responsible for stealing $75,000 in goods," Haddad noted.

Simple safety precautions keep home invaders away

In addition to the discussion on the crime rate in the city, there was also a presentation by Cpl. Dan Bartok on crime prevention.

"Most criminals are looking for easy targets," Cpl. Bartok said. "They are looking to be unseen and unheard."

Some of the suggestions Bartok made to prevent crime ranged from keeping a light on at night when no one is home so the house looks occupied, to illuminating outside the home. But one of the most basic suggestions to keep criminals out was locking doors and windows.

One piece of information Bartok reminded those at the meeting of is the Vacation House Check program offered by the police department.

"All you have to do is call the police station and tell the officer at the front desk you want to be added to the vacation home check," Bartok said. "It takes about five minutes for the officer to take all the needed information and then when you are gone, police reserve officers will do random stops to check out the house."

If a problem is found, police will take the appropriate action and get in touch with the contact person listed by the home owner, he added.

Two other programs detailed by Sgt. Donald Armstrong dealt with reporting suspicious activity in a neighborhood and the NIXLE text and email alert system.

"If there is someone in the neighborhood who does not belong or something is going on that just does not seem right, this is the time to call the Suspicious Activity Line," Sgt. Armstrong said. "The calls goes directly to dispatch and a car can be sent to check out what is happening. "

Dearborn's suspicious activity number is 313-943-3030.

He stressed the line is for non-emergency calls and in the event of an emergency, residents should call 911.

The free NIXLE alert system provides alerts by text to cell phones or to an email address. Alerts can range from dangerous weather conditions, traffic problems, emergency situations the public need to be aware of and in the case of the Community Awareness meeting, a message reminding residents of the program.

"It is very easy to enroll in the program on a cell phone to receive text messages," Armstrong said. "All the user has to do is text the zip code 48126 to 888-777 and the number will be put into the system to receive alerts."

For those who would rather have the information sent by email, users can log onto the NIXLE site at www.nixle.com, click register and then sign up.

Finally for those who are interested in staying abreast of crime statistics in Dearborn and just about anywhere else in the nation, there is the website www.crimemapping.com, Armstrong added.