The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office released a community report detailing home invasion and crime statistics, costs of a police service unit and ways for residents to be engaged in their respective areas.
According to Sheriff Jerry Clayton, since 2009, their mission has been to create public safety, provide quality service and build strong and sustainable communities.
The best way to do this is through proactive, strategic partnerships with the community instead of traditional reactive policing, Clayton said.
Clayton said his office is willing to have an open dialogue with residents; one of his main goals is establishing trust with them.
“Through service excellence and crime prevention, our goal is to improve the quality of life in the county and build strong and sustainable communities,” Clayton said.
In 2009, there were 1,038 home invasions in Washtenaw County. Fifty-five of those resulted in arrests. In 2010, 941 home invasions occurred and 78 resulted in arrests.
The sheriff’s office is conducting free home security surveys to lower the number of home invasions. During the survey, deputies will assess the property and find things that may leave the owner susceptible to home invasions. After the survey, participants will be given a written report identifying the vulnerable areas and suggestions on how to fix them.
Also released were the figures for the total number of calls for service in the WCSO’s patrol areas between Jan. and Dec. of 2009.
Washtenaw County Dispatch received 233,446 calls in 2009, Ypsilanti Dispatch received 55,884 and Eastern Michigan University Dispatch received 2,055 calls.
The dispatches responded to calls for things such as burglary and home invasions, larceny, assault, vehicle theft, drug violations, animal complaints and juvenile issues.
The report also compared the various police budgets within Washtenaw County for 2010 and how much it costs residents in terms of tax dollars. Ypsilanti Township had a population of 53,037 in 2010 and the police budget was $4,865,011. This cost each resident $91.73 in tax dollars.
Ypsilanti City has a budget of $4,601,548 for a population of 19,419 people. Each resident paid $236.96 in taxes.
In 2010, the WCSO took over for Ypsilanti Dispatch in a cost saving effort. Through the partnership, $73,000 in revenue was generated by the county and Ypsilanti saw a $158,000 reduction in its general fund because of it.
Even though money was saved, some residents believe Ypsilanti should still be providing their own dispatch services.
“I just don’t agree with it,” Robin Hughes said. Hughes, an Ypsilanti Township resident, said she thinks the response time was affected by the partnership.
“Two houses down from me in my neighborhood got robbed,” she said. “The cops came, but by the time they did, the damage was done.”
Jesslyn Meyers, a Washtenaw Community College student, said she doesn’t mind the combined efforts because she has seen increased patrol near her apartment in the past year.
“My apartment isn’t in the greatest of areas, but it’s nice to see cops driving through. Especially at night,” Meyers said.
