Opinion: Weathering the perfect storm in Washtenaw County law enforcement

The "Perfect Storm in Law Enforcement" was my term for a developing trend. We could be in for some wild times in regard to crime, and we all have to watch out for each other and assist law enforcement whenever we can. One way to assist the community is by reporting “suspicious activity.”

What is “suspicious activity” and when should you call the police? 

Call police whenever you think there's a crime being committed. For instance, if for some reason you are up late at night and see someone who is not your neighbor in your neighbor’s backyard, call the police! This is called “prowling,” and it is a crime in the City of Ann Arbor. 

A person can not enter onto someone else’s property during the hours of darkness without having been invited or allowed there by the property owner or agent. Therefore, if you see someone skulking around through backyards in residential neighborhoods - that's prowling and the police should be notified immediately. 

When calling police, make sure you stay on the line with the operator to give a description of the person(s) involved and where they are or where they appear to be heading. The operator may keep you on the phone as the officers arrive and until the officers make contact with the suspicious person to make sure they've approached the correct individual.

If you see someone around a neighbor’s home during the day and you know your neighbor is not home during the day, watch the person for a moment. If you can't tell what the person is doing near your neighbor’s home, car or other property, call the police. Officers will respond, check the person out, and check the exterior of your neighbor’s home to see if there has been a break-in or other criminal activity.  

Many times, the stranger by your neighbor’s home may have a legitimate reason for being there. That’s fine, let the cops get to the bottom of the mystery. If the person is legitimate, the officer will radio dispatch to relay what this person was doing and how long they will be in the area in case other good citizens call.  

If the person the officers contacts is “dirty” (a cop term meaning the person has no good reason to be by your neighbor’s home and is probably about to commit a crime), the officers will dig further. Even if the suspicious person has not committed a crime, chances are he or she won’t today in that area because the police have their name and description.  

The information the patrol officer obtains will be given to detectives, and the description will be compared to other crimes in the city for possible links. A criminal background will be run on the individual’s name, and if he or she has been arrested before, the detectives may pull reports to check on this individual’s criminal résumé and how he/she committed crimes (M.O.) in the past. The best predictor of the future is the past when dealing with people.

Many people in Ann Arbor have told me over the years that they hate to call the police about a suspicious person because they fear being labeled a racist, sexist or elitist for calling about a subject “who doesn’t belong” in their neighborhood. If that worried citizen does not recognize the person they are calling about, that means that the person is at least a stranger in the neighborhood. Why not find out what brings this person to the neighborhood?  

Yes, people have a right to be almost anywhere they want, but there should be a reason they are there. People with legitimate reasons for being in the area will tell the cops or neighbors if asked. It has been my experience that people who are up to something nefarious won’t answer and may become belligerent because they're trying to divert attention away from what they were up to.

Some neighborhoods physically make it easy to spot strangers. I grew up near Dicken school on the city’s southwest side. Hardly any of the streets in my old neighborhood ran in straight lines. They all curved, and most ended in a cul de sac. It is pretty easy to spot strangers there because it was difficult to navigate through if you didn’t live there. Even the officers in town refer to that neighborhood as a “spaghetti bowl” because the streets twist and turn so much and are difficult to navigate.

In other areas of town, it is more difficult to spot strangers or suspicious people. The downtown area is necessarily full of transient people who come to town for a variety of reasons. The area is full of cars and people from all walks of life, and strangers can not be easily identified. In that case, a person’s behavior is what should be examined. If someone places you in fear or their actions lead you to believe they may be about to commit a crime, call the police and have them checked out. 

If you are a shopkeeper, for instance, you know how customers act. You can probably actually determine the “buyers” from the “lookers” by their behavior. Use those skills if you think someone “just doesn’t look right” to you. Call the police.

Several years ago, an employee at a store on the south side called about a guy who didn’t look right in the parking lot near the business. The surveillance crew I was working with responded and watched this guy for over an hour - he was watching the businesses from some bushes near the strip mall. 

Finally, near closing time, he went into a men’s clothing store and came out a minute or two later on a dead run. We couldn’t see inside the store because the front had few windows, but there was no doubt he had done something by his behavior. We started to chase this guy as our dispatch center called the store and confirmed that the man had just committed an armed robbery. He was arrested, and his gun was located after a long foot pursuit (the truth is he ran and we chased him in several cars). 

In commercial areas, look for vehicles and people in the area after hours. Some businesses have late shifts, like manufacturing and bakers, but most do not. If you are working late or live near one of those areas and see cars or people well after established hours, call the police and have them checked out. You may even be checked out at some point. If that happens, state your business, cooperate and thank the officers for their diligence.

I’m sure you're wondering how police departments with more limited personnel are going to handle these calls for service. You’ve made an astute observation. Depending on what you report, there will be times the officers will be running too many calls and may not get there to check a person out. Remember, this is a proactive strategy to PREVENT crime. When the police get busier, it will be up to citizens to assist in this prevention endeavor and keep our communities safe.  

Being a good citizen means helping those around you. Be a good witness. Whenever possible write down descriptions of suspicious cars and people. Vehicle descriptions including a license plate are the most helpful pieces of information for the police.  

BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS. KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS AND COMMUNICATE WITH THEM IF YOU SEE SOMEONE SUSPICIOUS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. Remind your neighbors to: LOCK IT UP, DON’T LEAVE IT UNATTENDED, BE AWARE AND LOOK OUT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS.

Richard Kinsey retired from the Ann Arbor Police Department at the end of June and now blogs about crime and safety for AnnArbor.com.