By: K. Michelle Moran | Grosse Pointe Times | Published April 26, 2023
GROSSE POINTE CITY — There was a slight uptick in crime in Grosse Pointe City from 2021 to 2022, but numbers remain below the pre-COVID-19 pandemic years.
Results of the 2022 annual Grosse Pointe City crime report were shared with the Grosse Pointe City Council by Public Safety Director John Alcorn during a meeting Feb. 27.
“Crime trends were very similar to 2021,” Alcorn said. “We stayed very consistent.”
The total number of Part I crimes — considered the more serious offenses — rose from 60 in 2021 to 76 in 2022. In 2019 — before the COVID-19 pandemic started in Michigan — there were 84 Part I offenses. In 2017, there were 104.
“Our arrests are trending towards pre-COVID levels,” Alcorn said.
The City’s Part I crimes saw a reduction in aggravated assault, from 10 incidents in 2021 to six in 2022, but a small increase in burglaries, from three in 2021 to five in 2022. Motor vehicle thefts rose from six in 2021 to 11 in 2022, while the most common Part I crime — larceny — increased from 39 in 2021 to 53 in 2022.
The motor vehicle theft increase could be traced to a very modern source: social media.
“That was that idiotic TikTok challenge” involving the thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles, Alcorn said.
Alcorn said the increase in burglaries and larcenies was ultimately tied to two suspects, both of whom were arrested and convicted because of the work done by City detectives.
“We closed a lot of those cases,” Alcorn said.
Of larcenies from vehicles, he said about 80% were unlocked at the time.
“So please, lock your cars,” Alcorn said.
Part II crimes, considered less serious offenses, fell slightly, from 100 in 2021 to 95 in 2022.
The Fire Prevention Team — which includes two officers from each of the five Pointes — delivered more than 30 fire safety presentations last year and went to nine different schools, Alcorn said.
“This is a new, positive (initiative),” Grosse Pointe City Manager Pete Dame said at the Feb. 27 meeting.
“It’s needed,” Mayor Sheila Tomkowiak said.
Alcorn said that, in 2021, officer Jarod Jones became the community resource officer and is now the lead officer for the Seniors and Law Enforcement, or SALE, program. Grosse Pointe City seniors who join SALE are teamed up with one of the department’s participating officers, who keeps in touch with the senior and responds to concerns or special requests.
“It continues to be a popular program,” Alcorn said.
Seniors interested in joining or learning more about SALE can call the Public Safety Department at (313) 886-3200.
Regular training “continues to be one of our highest priorities,” Alcorn said.
“I think we have the best public safety department in the universe,” Tomkowiak said after the Feb. 27 meeting. “And it comes from the top. The chief stresses training. … We are second to none, and training is the most important thing. And it shows.”
Alcorn recognized Lt. Al Gwyn, who marked his 25th anniversary with the department on March 16, 2022. Gwyn has worked in almost every area of the department during his career, including a stint with the detective bureau.
“He’s been consistently amazing,” Alcorn said.
In addition, officer Lucas Rucinski — who joined the department in August 2020 — competed for and earned a position on the Eastern Wayne Special Response Team, or SRT, Alcorn said. The SRT is similar to a SWAT team and includes public safety officers from across the Grosse Pointes and Harper Woods.
City officials praised Alcorn and his department on the report.
“Thanks, chief,” City Councilman Terence Thomas said. “It never ceases to amaze me how well your team is doing.”
Longtime City Councilman Christopher Walsh was impressed by the crime statistics, which are still much lower than they were several years ago.
“Keep it up,” Walsh told Alcorn. “It’s really been refreshing from years back.”