By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR — If a fire is started by a single spark, city officials hope to continue a sense of momentum seen in the closing of a bar by engaging the community in crime prevention.
Mayor Rick Sollars and Police Chief Mary Sclabassi announced the launch of “Taylor on Watch,” a community-participation effort intended to reduce crime and improve
citizen safety. The first in a series of town hall meetings has been scheduled for 6 p.m. April 23 at City Hall, 23555 Goddard.
The four planned sessions will focus on and invite residents from the city’s four regions: the first meeting invites those living in the area bordered by Telegraph, Goddard Inkster and Pennsylvania roads. Additional meetings will be held in June, September and November.
The public is invited to each of these sessions, even if not a resident of that particular quarter.
Elected officials and taxpayers have spoken out about crime in Taylor, including what Sollars described as overwhelming support in the wake of the closure of White Rhino, 22615 Goddard, last month.
The sports bar had been found in violation of numerous building and fire codes, and gunfire in the parking lot prompted last month’s investigation that resulted in shutting down the business.
“This has opened our eyes up,” Sollars said.
City officials determined that several bars were operating without a license, others in violationinof
building or fire safety codes.
Some of these businesses attracted criminal activity which inevitably spilled over into adjoining residential neighborhoods.
“We don’t want these types of establishments,” Sollars said after the White Rhino closing.
Taylor on Watch will feature law enforcement experts and tips for neighborhood safety in an effort to include citizen participation and information sharing.
Sclabassi said in a statement that the program would be an enhancement of existing Police Auxiliary and citizen patrol programs.
“The police cannot be everywhere, all the time, ”Sclabassi said. “We need eyes and ears in the community.
They can make their own neighborhoods safer.”
The city already has added four additional police
officers this year — bringing the total to near 70 — and is considering adding K-9 units, motorcycle officers and special traffic units.
Crime rates reportedly dropped for Taylor in 2013, although violent crimes rose slightly from the year before.
The overall decrease in burglaries, property and drug crimes were, city officials said, an indication that public safety strategies are working. Taylor on Watch may be the next step in continuing that trend.
For more information contact the Police Department
at 734-287-6611.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected])