Crime in Pointes Not As High As Some May Think, Police Say

On the heels of an armed robbery at on Mack Avenue, Woods City Administrator Al Fincham announced Monday night that the city saw a 41 percent reduction in crime last year. 

The decrease in crime came despite a drop in manpower, which Fincham credits to officers' high visibility in the community.

The year wasn't without its problems, however, throughout the Pointes. A series of bank robberies in the Pointes, St. Clair Shores and other nearby communities struck the area in late fall. A city officer was fired upon by a motorist. At least two residents—one from the Woods and more recently one from the Farms—were carjacked. Three teenage girls were robbed at gunpoint on Jefferson Boulevard.

Although the perception of residents may be that crime is getting worse, most of the Pointes' public safety directors disagree. They say that the crime is similar to what it has been for years, both statistically and categorically. 

They also highlight their high closure rates of investigations, and credit their high visibility as a deterrent. 

The stats

Director Daniel Jensen said he monitors crimes month-to-month. It's misleading to look at percentages in the Pointes because the rates are so low that any increase looks big as a percent, he said.

For example, the Farms had one additional armed robbery in 2010 as compared to 2009, which is a 100 percent increase. There were two robberies, one of which was  part of a bank robbery spree in which two people are facing federal bank robbery charges. 

director Andrew Pazuchowski said the crimes are not getting worse but residents are hearing more about the crimes when they happen, as compared to a few decades ago.

Both media coverage and the department's distribution of information have made the comings and goings of the officers and investigations more transparent, Pazuchowski said. That, he said, could give residents a false impression that crime is getting worse.

Transparency is good, he said, but residents need to understand  all of the same kind of crimes—armed robberies, vehicle thefts, burglaries—were going on two decades ago. 

Most of the Pointes are still compiling their year-end numbers, but in the Woods there were eight robberies in 2010—half as many as in 2009. More decreases came in aggravated assaults, thefts and stolen vehicles. Burglaries remained the same at 27, according to the annual report.

In the , crime is up a bit, Director James Fox said, but 2009 was an unprecedented slow year. So although the crime rates are up, Fox said they are returning to what is more typical for the city.

According to unofficial numbers compiled in the City, two armed robberies and two unarmed robberies were investigated in 2010. Vehicle thefts remained at 11 for both years. Burglaries increased from five to nine, but the numbers shouldn't cause alarm because half of those involved families and were not random, Fox said. Felonious assaults increased from one to four. 

The City department also received more calls for help in 2010 at 5,064 as compared to 4,384. Overall, the department saw nearly a 19 percent decrease in most of the more serious crimes, Fox said.

He cautioned, though, that residents should be aware of their surroundings.

"Residents should be concerned with the areas around the Grosse Pointes. It's getting worse," Fox said. "There are more drug houses, more bombed out houses ... ." 

Officers are encouraged to patrol the borders heavily, Fox said, to prevent the possibility of crime coming in. Many of the arrests made in all of the Pointes stem from traffic stops along the borders in which minor violations are discovered, such as driving on a suspended license or warrants from other jurisdictions.

The Park had a 17.1 percent drop in major felony crime in 2010, Director David Hiller said. 

The has the lowest rate for violent felony crimes. Fraud/identity theft is the complaint Shores police received the most last year within the higher-level felonies, according to data from Director Stephen Poloni. Ordinance violations and traffic citations were the largest portion of what the department handled last year, according to the data. 

The other advantage for the Shores is the lack of a business district. The only two commercial properties in the Shores are the and the . 

Prevention: You can help

Residents are an important element in keeping crime low. The directors said their residents are good about calling in suspicious activity or noticing something that is out of place. 

director David Hiller said residents are the best resource for officers. They are the eyes and ears of the community and when they share what they know, even if it's something seemingly unimportant, it may be something to launch an investigation from open to closed. 

The clearance rate of cases in the Pointes is another important factor, the directors say, noting their historically high crime solution rate continues today.

Jensen described his patrol officers and detectives as aggressive investigators who work very well together. The closure rate for investigations is in the high 90 percent range routinely, Jensen said. The patrol officers are good about documenting the information during the initial report, which aids detectives' investigations, he said.

According to the Woods' annual report, the department closed 1,256 cases and 10 remain open. In the Shores, according to the data by Poloni, 195 of 210 cases were closed in 2010. City Detective Alan Gwyn, who is compiling year-end figures, said the clearance rate for the major crimes is high. Hiller echoed Gwyn. 

Visibility

A few of the departments credit more visibility of police as helping keep crime relatively low. Jensen and Hiller both said having traditional, easily identifiable police cruisers is one part of the visibility. They give the departments a presence in the community and let potential criminals know officers are around. 

Previously the Farms had powder-blue squad cars that were more aesthetically pleasing, but Jensen helped to change that for the visibility element, he said.

The many squad cars parked along Mack Avenue in the Woods are another part of being visible within the community, Woods Sgt. Ray Yonkowski said.

Without their visible presence, quick responses and dedication, crime statistics would likely be different, directors said. 

"Grosse Pointe is not immune to crime," Hiller said, explaining it's an important point to remember. Ideally, he said crimes wouldn't exist here at all, but that's unrealistic.