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Quarterly Report - Third Quarter - 2003

TO: Kenneth D. Krombeen, City Manager
FROM: Vernon L. Snyder, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Quarterly Report – Third Quarter
DATE: October 30, 2003

Listed below is a review of some police activities for the third quarter of 2003; the months of July, August, and September.

Complaints Investigated

Performance Report

CRIMINAL ACTIVITY:  

The members of the Grandville Police Department had a significant part in a number of area wide criminal investigations.  Once again, this shows that criminals do not respect jurisdictional boundaries.  And once again, the need to work with other area police agencies on common problems has been reinforced.

An ongoing investigation of the Kent Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, which includes police personnel from the Kent County Sheriff Department, Walker Police Department, and Grandville Police Department, made a significant seizure in the City of Grandville.  Initially, one suspect was arrested and five (5) pounds of marijuana was seized.  Additional investigation led to an address in the 4100 block of Ivanrest Ave SW.  At that location, officers recovered just under five hundred (500) additional pounds of marijuana, paraphernalia for distributing the marijuana, and approximately $37,000 in cash.  The investigation determined that the house was used only to package and store the marijuana to be picked up for sale elsewhere.  

A patrol sergeant observed a suspicious vehicle around the Lowes store near Canal Avenue and 44^th Street SW.  Although she was unable to get the car stopped, she was able to get a description and partial plate.  In checking farther around the area, she discovered that one of the area businesses had been broken into and that an attempt had been made at another one.  The information she was able to provide linked a suspect arrested in a Zeeland burglary to the offenses in our city as well as other similar incidents in the City of Wyoming.

A patrol officer had two suspects flee from him when he checked a suspicious vehicle at an area motel.  Although the suspect temporarily escaped, evidence recovered from the vehicle linked them to a series of home invasions in the Ada and Lowell area.  Warrants were obtained and one of the suspects was arrested in Ada and the second one was arrested in Grandville.  

COMMUNITY EVENTS:  

The annual Independence Day events occurred on July 3 and 4 this year.  The YMCA/Galyans race was held on the evening of July 3 this year.  This resulted in an increase in participation.  The parade, the events at Grandville Middle School and Wedgewood Park, and the fireworks were held on July 4.  

Community Policing officers helped coordinate a total of eight block parties on National Night Out which was held on August 5.  Officers attended all of the parties along with members of the Grandville Fire Department.  Once again this year, a member of the Michigan National Guard in a military vehicle accompanied the officers.  This event is a great way for neighbors to get to know each other and to pause for a moment and consider ways in which to make their neighborhoods safe.  

Once again this summer, the Police-School Liaison Officer presented a two hour block of instruction to all driver training students at both Grandville High School and Calvin Christian High School.  The class includes a one hour class room presentation on the legal responsibilities of a driver.  The students are then taken out to the driving range where the officer conducts traffic stops on the range cars.  For many students, the first potential for an adversarial contact with a police officer occurs when they begin driving.  The first time they are stopped by a police officer can be a time of high anxiety for them.  Traffic stops are also one of the more dangerous activities for police officers as well.  The time spent on the driving range is intended to inform the students of their legal responsibilities if they are stopped by an officer.  They are also taught to find a safe location to pull off the road.  It is hoped that the class will lessen the anxiety and allow for greater safety for the student, the officer, and other members of the public.

The members of the Grandville Police Department and the 59^th District Court Probation staff continued to work together to enhance the accountability of people that are on probation in the City of Grandville.  Police instructors trained the probation staff in pressure point control tactics, a self defense system.  The probation staff, frequently accompanied by police officers, hopes to begin targeting problem probationers for more intensive surveillance, including home visits to ensure that they are following the terms of their probation.  With the cost of jail time, and the limit that the 59^th District Court has on the number of jail beds that it is allocated, this intensive supervision may allow some offenders to be sentenced to probation in lieu of jail.  If they cannot comply with the terms of the probation, they may face stiffer sanctions, up to and including jail time.  This training will help the probation staff to remain safe in case they have a physical encounter whether it occurs in their office, in court, or during a home visit.  

TRAFFIC:  

Traffic enforcement was up for the quarter both in the categories of traffic summons (+31%) issued and verbal warnings (+4%).  In addition to an increase in patrol officer’s efforts, the Community Policing officers undertook a number of neighborhood traffic enforcement efforts.  In some areas, the officers used a laser speed measurement instrument while on foot, and waved over the motorist to make the contact.  At some locations, everyone traveling at five miles per hour over the speed limit, was stopped and warned, with the more serious violators receiving tickets.  

The Grandville Police Department initiated a program of red light enforcement that included officers from the Grand Rapids Police Department, Kent County Sheriff Department, Kentwood Police Department, Michigan State Police Department, Walker Police Department, and the Wyoming Police Department.  High crash intersections were selected by all of the participating agencies for the enforcement effort.  The host agency at each location provided spotter officers and the other participating agencies provided chase cars to stop the violators.  The first effort was held on July 10 and the project continued throughout the quarter.  By September 30, 2003, and after a total of forty-two hours (42) of enforcement, a total of six hundred and sixty-four (664) vehicles had been stopped with three hundred and ninety-seven (397) drivers ticketed for red light violations, one hundred and forty-seven (147) people ticketed for seat belt violations, and one hundred and forty-one (141) people ticketed for other violations.  The project was particularly effective on the more complicated, high traffic intersections where individual officers can not effectively enforce observed violations.  The project was designed to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths through the enforcement and publicity that the effort produced.  Members of the Office of Highway Safety Planning came from their offices in Lansing to observe the project.  They had never seen a cooperative project quite like this one, particularly where the departments worked together for the enforcement effort in a project that did not require overtime.  The intersections of Wilson Avenue and 28^th Street, Wilson Avenue and Chicago Drive, and Ivanrest Avenue and 28^th Street in the City of Grandville were included in the project.  All three of the intersections are high crash intersections for the city, and are very difficult for an individual officer to work effectively.  

                                                               Respectfully Submitted,  

                                                                        Vernon L. Snyder, 

Chief of Police

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