Detroit Suburb Enlists Phones in Ongoing War Against Crime

A telephone recording that lists the latest in lawlessness has some suburban residents dialing for crime news before it spreads to their neighborhoods.

By calling a special police telephone number, residents in the Detroit suburb of Garden City can hear a recording that lists which crimes were prevalent the previous week in a specific area.

Police say the service enables residents to take special precautions to prevent thefts.

Notes Crime Patterns

“What we try to do is to alert people that there’s a crime pattern in a particular neighborhood--what area’s experiencing a home break-in problem, for example,” Garden City police Chief Charles Wilmoth said. “People like it because they don’t have to call up and bother us.

“It’s all designed to reduce the possibility of crime.”

Each week, the recording features the city’s crime prevention officer listing crimes in the 42,000-resident community the previous week, Wilmoth said. Patterns, such as thefts of snow blowers in certain areas, are noted.

Similarities of Crime Methods

Similarities in crime methods, such as the form of entry into burglarized homes, also are included on the recording so that residents can take additional precautions, Wilmoth said.

The service began last year with a donation from the local Kiwanis club, Wilmoth said. Although he has no estimate on the number of people who use the service, Wilmoth said residents apparently are calling the crime-line number frequently.

“In talking with the officers, they say they see (the telephone) light up all the time,” he said. “We’re satisfied that we’re getting the information out.”