The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - September 3. 1996- 3E
R PS AAPD, DP help ci ty to low crime rate
'Answers
onAn
Arbor
History
Founded in 1824 as "Annarbour,"
supposedly after the wives of John
Allen and Walker Rumsey and the
large number of trees in the area.
® Failed in its bid to be the state
capital when the honor was given to
Lansing.
* The University of Michigan regents
agreed to move the school to Ann
Arbor in 1837 when 40 acres of land
downtown were allotted.
s Signal of Liberty moved its press-
s to Ann Arbor in 1841 and became
known nationwide as an abolitionist
paper.
The first class graduated from the
University in 1845.
Dubbed "Athens on the Huron" at
the end of the 19th century.
Granted suffrage to women in
1912. The measure did not become
state law until 1918.
Agnes Inglis founded a birth con-
ot clinic in Ann Arbor in 1916.
After World War I, growth pushed
the boundaries outward along the M-
14, US-23 and 1-94 freeways.
Population
108,817 (1994 estimate)
51 percent female
82 percent white
9 percent black
'7.7 percent Asian
By Sam t .Dudek
Daily Staff Reporter
The clock tower strikes midnight. The lights at
the Hatcher Graduate Library go black. You are on
your way home. You start walking toward the bus
stop to catch a the next ride to Bursley. Wait ... you
hear footsteps behind you. You feels someone's
eyes burning holes in the back of your head. You
walk faster. The footsteps pound closer ... closer
.. what should you do?
Like any other city, Ann Arbor falls victim to its
fair share of crime. Larcenies, assaults and rob-
beries are always a threat, even in this peaceful
Midwest town.
The Ann Arbor Police Department and the Uni-
versity's Department of Public Safety, with a com-
bined force of 200 officers, are the two major law
enforcement agencies protecting the city of Ann
Arbor. And according to the numbers, they have
been effective in fighting crime.
The Federal Bureau of Investiga- _
tion's most recent crime report lists
Ann Arbor as one of the safest cities "Ther'
in its population range.
Ann Arbor, with a population of always
110,486, places third on the list of
safest cities out of 18 with popula- af ety
tions between 100 and 120 thou-
sand people.
Green Bay, Wis., topped the list, Sgt.
while Macon, Ga., wrapped up the s
18th spot. Ann Ai
AAPD Sgt. Phil Scheel said there D
are three major reasons Ann Arbor
fared so well.
"Our aggressive crime preven-
tion programs and our community policing has
helped contain crime," he said.
Scheel also said the demographic statistics of the
city have helped keep crime down.
"The baby boomer generation is aging," he said.
"Baby boomers make up the largest group of any
age group in Ann Arbor."
Scheel said this older group of people is less
likely to commit crimes. He
said juvenile crime is the Other cith
growing concern.
Thirdly, Scheel speculated Ann Arbor had the
the formation of DPS in rate of cities of c
1990 lowered the city's 1994. Cities and
crime totals both because Green Bay, Wic.
they are another crime deter- Sioux Falls, S.D.
rent and because their patrol Ann Arbor, Mich.
of campus has reduced the Erie, Penn.
size of AAPD's jurisdiction, Alexandria, Va.
thus lowering the total
crimes in their area.
AAPD serves all parts of Ann Arbor except Uni-
versity property, which is monitored by DPS. Even
with separate jurisdictions, the two
departments still work together.
Is "We work very closely with
DPS," Scheel said.
Beth Hall, spokesperson for DPS, said the com-
munity policing program, in which DPS partici-
pates, is the wave of the future in law enforcement.
"It is a way for officers to interact with the com-
munity," she said.
e third-lowest crime
omparabte size in
their total crimes:.
Pop. Crimes.
102,248 4,758
107,258 5,317
110,486 5,489
109,785 5,687
115,929 7,317
Hall said DPS feels it is
important to educate and
inform the University com-
munity as a means of pre-
venting crimes.
People play an important
role in the prevention of
crime, Scheel said. Personal
safety is where most people
can help lower crime.
"There is always safety in
numbers," he said. "It's good
to be in a group of people
Murder
R ape
Robbery
Agg. assault
Burglary
Larceny
Car Theft
4
Ann Arbor Crime Statistics
- 1995 1994 1993
4;
43 42 47
2
133
268
153
353
129
336
1101
1086 9431
3635 3786 4032
225
208
260
ArFson
18 56 35
5,412 5,489 5,895
Total crimes
I
r
in
The two departments meet week-
ly to discuss current crime trends,
share information and work on
crimes that have taken place on
both city and University property.
Ann Arbor's police department
has also made a commitment to
work more closely with the com-
munity. Community Oriented
Policing is one step in this direc-
tion.
and in well lit areas."V
Scheel said women should especially be careful
when walking at night.
"Be aware of your surroundings." he said.
"Don't just use tunnel vision."
One of the department's most publicized cases in
recent years was the serial rapist who raped five
women and attempted seven more rapes from 1992
to 1994. He was eventually caught in December
1994 and then convicted.
The University has also had its hand in making
campus a safer place. Emergency phones are locat-
ed throughout the area that connect the caller
directly to DPS.
Hall said the blue-light phones automatically
dispatch a DPS officer to the scene in cases when
the caller is unable to speak.
DPS suggests that instead of walking alone at
night, students call one of the services designed to
accompany students at night.
These programs include nighttime walking ser-
vices Safewalk and Northwalk, the Night Owl bus.
and the DPS escort service.
Residents and students can also prevent cri ne
by taking some simple steps to protect their prop-
erty.
"Always lock you car doors when you leaveit
unattended and lock your car doors as soon as you
get inside the vehicle," Scheel said.
Hall said the same rule applies to rooms in rdsi-
dence halls.
"Whenever you leave your room, lock your
door," she said. "Students often think of their room
like their room at home, which they don't need to
lock. Here, they should think of their rooms as their
house and the hallway as the street."
University Housing Security, a division of DPS,
provides security for the residence halls.
Additionally, DPS has started a program to bet-
ter protect University buildings.
"Our building watch program functions like a
neighborhood watch for University buildings,"
Hall said.
Phil Scheel
krbor Police
)epartment
"Community Oriented Policing
is more of a philosophy than a program," Scheel'
said. "It is a way in which we work closely with
people in the neighborhoods to fight crime."
City,
'
relations
better than most-
college towns
Weather
Temperature
ranges:
0
Winter ................16-45*
Spring........................ 38-80*
Summer.......................54-84°
Fall .................22-62
Annual Precipitation: 32.81"
, nual Snowfall: 40.9"
Spending Habits
In 1994, Ann Arborites spent:
$445.8 million on food and drink
* $187 million on apparel and
accessories
$600 million on general medicine
® The Effective Buying Income is
$36,197 in Ann Arbor, $33,178
tionally.
Education
* 94 percent have a high school
diploma
* Over 40 percent completed four or
more years of college
Cost of Living Index
115 -15% higher than national
average
Median Household
4 come:
$41,605
JONATHAN LURIE/Daily
Busting the Bash
University Department of Public Safety officers arrest a man for smoking marijuana during the 1996 Hash Bash on the
Diag. The annual event, which took place April 6, has drawn people from around the country to Ann Arbor for 25 years.
San Arbor ranks as 5h
prcetoli.ve in the country
History, residents help
overcome issues like
taxes, policing
By Greg Parker
Daily Staff Reporter
Unlike many other "college towns,"
Ann Arbor exhibits a unique, friendly
relationship between the city and Uni-
versity. This is true despite obvious com-
peting interests between the University
and the city.
The first, and possibly largest, com-
peting interest between the two entities is
the problem of taxation. After all, land
owned by the University is tax-free, tak-
ing up a sizable portion of the city's land
and agenda.
But while the University seems to pay
a disproportionately low amount of taxes
versus services received, it gives to the
city in ways other than taxes. For
instance, the amount of increased revenue
for store owners and the increased
employment resulting from student ser-
vices are only two ways the University
gives back to the community.
But perhaps what separates Ann
Arbor from other college towns is its
history. In Ann Arbor, the city and the
University have grown together; the
University became a part of Ann Arbor
when the city was in its infancy in 1837.
Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon said
she agrees.
"Historically, why the University is in
Ann Arbor is because a group of busi-
nessmen wanted to be successful, ... got
together money, purchased a large plot
of land and donated it to the University,"
Sheldon said.
The businessmen, expecting econom-
ic benefits, more than likely overshot
their expectations.
Sheldon said the initial establishment
of the University in the city led to an
"evolution of interdependency, trying to
be very symbiotic."
Perhaps it is the residents of Ann
Arbor that make the community so hos-
pitable to the University.
After all, the University has been
around long enough for people to know
what they are getting into before they
settle in a town like Ann Arbor.
Knowing this, residents might have
much better attitudes regarding the city.
This isn't to say that the residents don't
recognize the benefits of living in a Uni-
versity setting.
"Our residents see the benefit and
quality of life and say, 'Fine, that's what
I have bought into,"' Sheldon said.
This is not to say there are no prob-
lems between Ann Arbor and the 0ni-
versity. Issues come up from time to
time, but officials on both sides say they
maintain a proactive ideology in dealing
with matters. Part of the process is "rec-
ognizing that there is a possibility of dif-
ference and working towards resolying
issues quickly as possible to develgp a
win-win situation," Sheldon said.
One potential source of problems
between the city and University -:and
one that haunts other college toWns,
including Michigan State Universit' in
East Lansing, Mich. - could be regard-
ing the community's police department.
With the increased amount of crime
that happens in and around campuses,
policing and jurisdiction sometimes
conflict.
Currently, Ann Arbor has its own city
police department, while the University
has a separate, state-deputized, depart-
ment of their own, the Department of
Public Safety.
The separation of city and campus
police might have created the correct
formula for policing, as the University
pays no city taxes and the DPS is fund-
ed by the University.
But along with this division of Idbor
comes jurisdictional problems, of which
Sheldon is aware of, stating that} the
campus and city are so "intertwin'ed"
that "there is no clear jurisdiction."=
Additionally, she said that "what is
good is that the two departments have
defined areas and boundaries ... they can
work together for the whole town."
The transition of former University
President James Duderstadt to interim
President Homer Neal might also pose a
transition of University/city relations.
Sheldon said she "hopes that wecan,
if issues come up, first try to sit down
and resolve them and recognize that we
are responsible for the whole environ-
ment."
h
Average Monthly
Apartment Rent:
$750 (2 bedroom, unfurnished)
Sales Tax:
nemployment Rate:
3.5% (September 1995)
Voting
Information
Percent registered:
94.07% (1992)
Percent voting:
64.93% (1992)
itizen-to-Physician
'atio.:
125.4: 1
Ann Arbor Public
Schools
Graduation Rate: 90.3% (1992-3)
SAT Average: 493 V, 567 M (1992-3)
Child Abuse Cases
1,00 under 18
q r5(1993)
Percentage of
population over 50
years old
By Megan Schimpf
Daily NSE Editor
Residents of Ann Arbor might com-
plain about the chilling temperatures of
winter, fall and spring, and the blistering
heat of summer, but the city still ranks as
the fifth-best place to live in the country,
according to annual rankings published
in Money Magazine.
Madison, Wis., home to the University
of Wisconsin, holds the top spot in the
survey, released in the magazine's July
issue. It ranked 16th nationally in 1995.
Ann Arbor moved up from the 33rd
spot on the list in last year's ranking.
"It's a great honor," said Ann Arbor
City Councilmember Chris Kolb (D-5th
Ward).
Kolb said there are many reasons Ann
Arbor ranked high.
"The diversity of the people, the
diversity of the events going on in town,
the University of Michigan, the good
economical climate, all the outdoor
activities in the parks and by the Huron
River, and all the things going on in the
neighborhoods - the variety of differ- tors, man
ent neighborhoods we have," Kolb said. ues, quali
Money said Madison "snagged the low incon
top spot because apparently someone ernment.
forgot to tell the folks in
Madison that life is sup-
posed to be full of trade- i
offs." 05
The range of activi- is anythng
ties, lifestyles and inter- to
ests of the people who new
live in the city referred to -
as "A-Squared" con-
tribute to its desirability. residnts of
Kolb said because of
all these factors, resi- Ann Arbor."
dents won't see the rank-
ing as a surprise. - Chris Kol
"I don't think it's any- (D-5th Ward
thing new to longtime
residents of Ann Arbor,"
Kolb said. "They know
this is a special place to live." city has a
The factors listed by Money readers as bined wii
the most important were: a low crime - The A
rate, clean water, clean air, plentiful doc-
y hospitals, rising housing val-
ty schools, low property taxes,
me taxes and strong state gov-
Ann Arbor boasts the
third-lowest crime rate for
cities of its size.
There are four hospitals
in the Ann Arbor area and
the citizen-to-physician
ratio is 125.4-to-1.
The Ann Arbor Public
School system boasts a
F 90.3 percent graduation
rate and ranks above the
national average on many
standardized exams.
b "Hopefully next year
1 we'll be No. 1," Kolb said.
Rockford, Ill, placed
last of the 300 cities on the
list. The article said the
poor employment future com-
th low quality of health care.
ssociated Press contributed to
this report.
Residents see the end of the Community Line
By Will Weissert
Daily Staff Reporter
Simple translation: no more lines of
hopeful Ann Arbor eighth graders.
"We decided this will be the fairest
Earlier this year, 15 days of waiting
around the clock in the Line came to an
A March 21 lottery distributed 50 slots.
In 1995, to prevent a line from form-
abrupt end for 50
eighth graders and
their exhausted fami-
ing, the district did not
divulge where it planned to
hold Community's sign-up
for us," Willis said. "We thought a 50-50
lottery and line process would work well
this year, but we didn't anticipate fami-
lies lining up 15 days early."
Simpson made his decision after a
munity," she said. "But if you want it
more that doesn't necessarily mean you
should get it."
She said that though the problem with
lines may be solved - the real problem
ithlna' ~rf-a , dennfor Cnrnrnnnitv;'s
"A od
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