Hazel Park, Madison Heights

Police work holds steady as crime trends down

By Andy Kozlowski
C & G Staff Writer

MADISON HEIGHTS/HAZEL PARK — Sometimes, reading about this crime or that crime makes it seem like society is falling apart. But step back and look at the numbers the police departments have on record, and you’ll find that last year there were fewer crimes in 2011 than last year or the years before.

Hazel Park
“2011 was generally a good year,” said David Niedermeier, who at press time was set to retire as Hazel Park’s chief of police at the end of January. “While our call volume may have dropped a little bit, the amount of work associated with the reports that were actually serviced seemed to be steady.”

He noted that the overall number of calls for service dropped from 12,700 in 2010 to 11,823 in 2011, a nearly 7 percent decrease. This might be due in part to some calls being classified differently after police switched to a new system last year.

When it came to the work itself, though, the fluctuating staff levels at the Police Department meant their workload was about the same, even as individual crime categories went down. Of course, some crimes may have gone undetected when there were fewer boots on the ground.

As such, it’s a difficult thing to quantify. Still, many of the numbers are encouraging, such as the fact that reported incidents have dropped continuously every year since 2005.

Rape (first- through third-degree) dropped from nine incidents in 2010 to four incidents in 2011. In the same period, larceny/retail fraud dropped from 416 incidents to 342, a nearly 18 percent decrease, while motor vehicle theft dropped from 157 incidents to 129, also a nearly 18 percent decrease.

Robbery and burglary mostly held steady between 2010 and 2011, rising from 19 to 20, and from 174 to 177, respectively. So did arson, dropping from four incidents to three.

The one real black spot is criminal homicide, which had a single tally in its category this year; there had been no murders in Hazel Park for over five years prior.

This murder was the killing of Jonathan Clements, 19, gunned down by a Detroit man outside his aunt’s home in the 23000 block of Crossley Feb. 15. Clements was meeting the man to buy a phone in a deal that had been arranged via Craigslist.

The gunman, 23-year-old Alexander Lyons, and his getaway driver, 19-year-old Lamar Clemons, also of Detroit, were tried separately. Both were convicted of first-degree felony murder and sentenced to life in prison in September.

“Jonathan Clements was a good kid, who was doing absolutely nothing wrong and fell prey to two heartless thugs that chose to kill for a few bucks instead of working to earn money and improve their lives and those around them,” Niedermeier said. “The two men that were arrested and convicted are exactly where they should be: in jail, hopefully until their last breath. If someone is willing to kill over something so minor, how does that person ever become a productive member of society?”

Niedermeier praised the good work of residents keeping an eye out for crimes and calling police at the first sign of suspicion. Numerous crimes were averted in this fashion.

He also thanked voters for passing the police and fire special assessment last year, which effectively spared the HPPD drastic cuts.

“If our voters would not have passed that assessment, I kid you not, this community would not look anything like it does or has,” Niedermeier said. “There would have been no realistic way our department, or any other for that matter, would have been able to respond to calls or protect this community with the resources that would’ve been left.”

He added they’re in good shape now.

“There is always room for improvement, and nothing will ever be perfect,” Niedermeier said, “but our residents should know their Police Department pulls out all stops to deliver the service that they demand of us. It has been my pleasure to be part of that commitment.”

Madison Heights
Madison Heights Police Chief Anthony Roberts said he couldn’t say much about whether the calls for service really dropped, due to the change in records management all local police departments underwent last year, in which certain calls now fall under different categories. For what it’s worth, though, their records show a drop from 19,453 calls in 2010 to 17,890 in 2011, a roughly 8 percent decrease.

But the chief said that while many categories saw slight rises in 2010, crime is down overall the past five years.

Criminal homicide remained at zero. Rape (first- through third-degree) rose from 11 incidents in 2010 to 14 in 2011. During the same period, robbery also went up, from 19 to 28, as did motor vehicle theft, from 128 to 162.

Even so, Roberts said, “motor vehicle theft remains under the five-year average of motor vehicle thefts” in Madison Heights. “In 2011, we saw what appeared to be crews of car thieves targeting specific vehicles. This reflects how auto thieves run in waves, target different places and target specific vehicles.”

Efforts continue between the Madison Heights Detective Bureau and the Oakland County Auto Theft Unit to combat this problem.

Robberies rose from 19 incidents in 2010 to 26 incidents in 2011, as did burglaries, from 174 in 2010 to 190 in 2011. That being said, 2008 and 2009 had two more robberies (28 per year). Also, burglaries remained under the five-year average, similar to 2009.

Arson dropped slightly, from six incidents in 2010 to five incidents in 2011.

The latest trend appears to be con men.

“In 2011, the Police Department received an increase in the number of fraud complaints,” said Roberts. Examples include forgery, credit card fraud and fraud by false pretenses. “The Police Department advises our citizens to protect their personal information, and to monitor their credit card activity and credit reports. Citizens should be cautious and conscientious when individuals are contracted to do work for them.”

He said that in 2012, his department would continue to provide core law enforcement services through patrol, criminal investigations and prosecution.

“As a community, we can see further success in combating crime with the assistance of our citizens,” Roberts said. “The citizens can help the Police Department tremendously, by watching for suspicious activity in their neighborhoods and when they’re out during their daily routines, and then report the suspicious activity to the Police Department.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Andy Kozlowski at akozlowski@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1104.