New public safety director named for Farmington

FARMINGTON — After working for Farmington’s public safety department for more than 15 years, Bob Houhanisin recently said he has reached the pinnacle of his career.

In December of last year, he was appointed by Farmington City Manager Dave Murphy to be the city’s public safety director.

Prior to his promotion, Houhanisin served as an officer, a sergeant, a commander and the deputy director for Farmington’s Public Safety Department.

Houhanisin has worked for Farmington since 2004.

Public safety in Farmington includes police, fire and EMS services.

As the chief of Farmington’s, Houhanisin’s duties include overseeing the budget, policies and procedures.

He is also the liaison between Farmington’s Public Safety Department, City Council and the city manager.

“So exciting,” Houhanisin said. “I’m happy to be here. … I can’t take credit for everything that we do. I have to share the credit with the people that I work with because, without them, we’re not the success that we are.”

Murphy said that Houhanisin was “well prepared” to be promoted to the position of public safety director.

“He’s been training for that position for a while,” Murphy said. “We promote from within. … He has the education and experience to do a very good job.”

Houhanisin shared some of his history, as well as that of the city’s Public Safety Department.

“Farmington is the oldest public safety department in Michigan,” he said. “All of our officers from the top on down are cross-trained in police, fire and EMS. … In 1995, I joined the Brighton area fire department as a paid-on-call firefighter, and then my first police job was (for) the village of Pinckney from 2002 to 2004. So when I came to Farmington in 2004, I was completely trained.”

Houhanisin said that Farmington Public Safety currently has around 22 public safety officers and 14 paid-on-call firefighters who are only trained in firefighting.

He added that there are six police cars and three fire trucks, with a minimum staffing level of three public safety officers per shift, and that the city has three cells, one being a detox area for intoxicated drivers.

Houhanisin said that Farmington is a “very safe” community, with a low crime rate.

“We’re aggressive in traffic enforcement to keep our streets safe,” he said. “If there are problem areas in Farmington, we put patrol cars there (and) we conduct studies; we do our best to make sure each resident feels that they are safe in the city of Farmington. We work very hard as a collective group to keep our stats low and make sure Farmington’s a safe place to live and visit.”

The website crimegrade.org has Farmington’s overall crime grade as an “A,” meaning that the rate of crime is much lower than the average city in the United States.

The site states that Farmington is in the 86th percentile for safety, meaning only 14% of cities are safer.

Farmington Hills also placed high, with the site giving it an “A-” for overall crime.

According to michigan-demographics.com, there are more than 11,000 residents in Farmington, and it is the 177th most populated city in the state.

The site has Farmington Hills’ population at more than 83,000, ranking as the 14th most populated city in the state.

From Houhanisin’s perspective, Farmington is unique with respect to how the city handles calls that come from residents.

“We call it the ‘Farmington way,’ and we do things that most departments don’t do,” he said. “We have officers that if you call us and need help, nothing is beneath us. … I’m a firm believer that if my parent or my grandparent needed help, no matter what it was, that if you called a Farmington public safety officer, we would respond in a prompt, professional manner and handle whatever it is that needs to be done. I think that’s what sets us apart from other departments.”

One of Houhanisin’s tasks is to promote someone from within to fill his previous position as deputy director.

He would also like for the city to remain accredited with the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.

“We were one of the first departments in the state of Michigan — I think we were number nine or 10 — to reach that status, so it’s my job to make sure we follow through with maintaining our accreditation, which is an extremely time-consuming process,” Houhanisin said. “I rely heavily upon my commanders and sergeants and deputy director, eventually, to help me with that process, because that really sets us apart from other agencies, to hold that accreditation status with the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. … I’m happy to do whatever it takes for the citizens and residents, and people who come to visit Farmington — make sure they’re safe and protected.”

Aside from encouraging residents to lock their vehicles, Houhanisin also shared another tip.

“If you see something, say something,” he said. “There’s never a bother. We would much rather handle it then and there and try to solve the crime, catch somebody in the act, versus trying to piece it together afterwards. So we always want people to call us when they hear or see something that doesn’t sound right.”

Houhanisin said that Farmington is accepting applications for a public safety officer, as well as a paid-on-call firefighter and cadet.

“If somebody’s looking for a great job in public safety, our cadet position is a great place to start, because you get an idea of what a police department is, what a fire department is, and how public safety works,” he said. “We encourage college students to apply.”

Having a fully staffed public safety department can help Farmington accomplish what Houhanisin cited as a goal.

“Keep going with the ‘Farmington way,’” he said.