Superior Township discusses neighbor’s police reduction

By Tom Perkins
Nov. 30, 2009    ·    8:35 a.m.

One of the most effective and intense police operations in Washtenaw County’s recent memory came in taming an increasingly violent area around MacArthur Boulevard in Superior Township last summer.

Integral to the success of the effort was the cooperation between Superior Township and it’s neighbor to the south, Ypsilanti Township.

But that collaboration between the two townships is now ceasing and the results of its end remains to be seen.

Ypsilanti Township voters rejected a law enforcement millage increase on Nov. 4 that would have sustained their current levels of police coverage, and with 10 less deputies on its streets as of Jan. 1, the manpower just isn’t there for such arrangements.

While Superior Township supervisor Bill McFarlane recognizes Ypsilanti Township’s loss of deputies is a setback, he is confident his community will remain safe.

“We’re not cutting our staff at all, but anytime your neighbor cutting police services, it’s going to have an impact, and I don’t think it’s going to be positive,” he said. “But for us it could even work better because of our new deployment.”

MacFarlane said the township has worked closely with Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton to redistribute coverage in the township as of Jan. 1, and a collaboration with Ann Arbor Township has left MacFarlane confident his government can maintain its current levels of coverage.

“In our township, we’re in pretty good shape,” he said. “While some of our neighbors are having financial issues, we’re fortunate. We have managed our resources and we’re not having those issues.”

The Ann Arbor Township collaboration benefits both communities. Superior Township is the larger of the two municipalities, and typically has two deputies on patrol 24 hours per day.

Ann Arbor Township is about a third the size and doesn’t have 24-hour police coverage. By sharing coverage, Superior Township now has three deputies who can respond to complaints or emergencies, and Ann Arbor Township receives 24-hour coverage.
Should an emergency in Ann Arbor Township require more than the one deputy for which they contract and a Superior Township deputy isn’t tied up, two deputies instead of one can respond.

“It has worked out very good for both of us,” MacFarlane said. “Their supervisor is doing a good job working with us, and we try to provide equitable service.”

The Superior Township board was also savvy in hiring a deputy who was contracted with Ypsilanti Public Schools and Lincoln Consolidated Schools for 12 months during the summer months. Neither district needs an officer over the summer, and crime is traditionally up over the across the board when the weather is warmer.

“Now it’ll be even faster response in the summer,” MacFarlane said.

Still, how the MacArthur Boulevard situation will play out after Jan. 1, when Ypsilanti Township sees less police coverage, remains a question mark. But, MacFarlane said Superior Township is working closely with apartment and party store owners whose businesses were the hot spots for crime in the area, and he believes it can still be managed.

“We’re hoping to continue to do what we’ve been doing,” he said.