Crime Rate, Lack Of Manpower Alarms Krasny Outlook '72: City Police

Ann Arbor Police Chief Walter E. Krasny says he's not an alarmist. And he disclaims any ability as a prophet. But how he sees 1972 and the crime picture for Ann Arbor residents amounts to a somewhat alarming prophecy. "We'll soon have 22 square miles to police,'' the veteran chief notes. "Twenty-two square miles in which more than half the county's population is concentrated. And we don't have enough men to do the job." Krasny says criminal offenses reported to his department in 1971 showed an increase of 14 per cent over last year, with the general complaint load going up 20 per cent. And he says the projection of these figures with the expected population growth of the city indicates an even bigger increase in all crime figures in the coming year. Of most concern to him is the major rise in crimes against persons - assaults and rapes - which he says his short supply of patrolmen are virtually helpless to stop or even control. In 1970 there were 15 reported criminal assaults in Ann Arbor. There were 26 such attacks in 1971. But this past year was definitely the time for assaults, police records indicate. In 1970 there were 443 assaults of all types reported to officers. That number jumped to 793 in 1971. "We don't expect to be provided with enough men that we can have an officer on every corner," Krasny says. "But we have fallen so far behind in manpower that time response in emergency runs has even risen. The non-emergency calls must wait anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour." The chief says his men have performed well in clearing criminal cases despite the shortage of manpower. Department records show a "clearance" rate of 35 per cent of all cases reported compared to the national police average of 20 per cent. A criminal case is considered "cleared" if an arrest and conviction is obtained or if the crime can definitely be attributed to a specific individual. The chief noted that while his department's detectives, working as part of a Michigan State Police and Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department "task force," have made flurries of narcotics arrests in the past year, the incidents have not slowed the trade. "We seem to be losing ground instead of gaining," he says. ''Illegal use of drugs of all types rose 75 per cent in 1971 over 1970 and with the new, softer misdemeanor law for marijuana the projection shows an additional increase in 1972." The soft-spoken chief, now in his 33rd year as a policeman, has a reputation as being slow to anger but he flared when talking about the new state law which reduces marijuana possession from a felony to a misdemeanor. "It's a laugh when these people talk about marijuana not leading to hard drugs," Krasny says. "The guy who peddles marijuana is like a gas station operator: he carries the marijuana for those who want it but he also carries a full line of accessories. In this case, hard drugs." The chief says his men will "live with" the new state law backed by Gov. William Milliken and a majority of young adults although he thinks it was ill-advised and "poor" legislation. Krasny's efforts to convince the City Council to raise the strength of his department from its present level of 143 have failed in the past two years. A general financial squeeze which has gripped both business and government recently has been blamed by councilmen for the city's inability to provide additional patrolmen salaries. The chief turned in requests for over 20 men in both of the last two years but has received none. "Service-cutting of course is the only answer," Krasny says. "We have already left with City Administrator Guy C. Larcom Jr. a list of services currently being provided by this department which we now recommend be cut. Police agencies all over the nation are doing it when the dollars for manpower are not there." Some of the services which might be cut include investigation of minor thefts, the sending of scout cars to check parking violations, and other duties which have no direct law enforcement function. Krasny said burglaries of homes and business places netted Ann Arbor thieves over $1,500,000 in personal property in 1971 with recovery of about 20 per cent reported. "We used to be up around 40 per cent in the recovery of stolen property," he notes. "But now there's just too many places to dispose of hot items. They pass through too many hands by the time we get a lead on them." The lone crime category which showed a decrease in Ann Arbor in 1971 over 1970 was the auto theft class. That type of crime showed a drop of 35 per cent, Krasny said. Telephoned bomb threats jumped from 53 in 1970 to 164 and forgery and counterfeiting rose over 5 per cent, he A sign of the times is reflected in the listing for juvenile runaways involving city police action. There were 150 such cases in 1970 and 326 in 1971. Five juveniles escaped from institutional custody in the city and county in 1970 but 48 made good their flights in 1971. Krasny took a shot at courts in general when he said light sentences, low bonds and arbitrary action by judges have hurt law enforcement in the past year. "Drugs are a going business, there's a big unemployment rate and you can get bonded out for almost anything these days," the chief said. "But those three things together and you've given the policeman an impossible task to perform. Courts are going to have to do more than wrist - slap and dismiss criminal cases at the slightest excuse. We're in need of a little toughness." Krasny said residents of Ann Arbor should do everything possible to prevent crime. Some steps which can thwart felons include the locking of all house doors and windows when leaving home, the securing of a car when it is left parked in public area, the reporting to police headquarters when suspicious circumstances are observed in a neighborhood and a willingness to appear at a criminal trial as a witness if necessary. "We can't be everywhere and, with the thin force we now have, it seems we can't be anywhere," the chief says. "So it's up to the citizen whose duty is to help us with information and assistance. I hope the new year will bring much more of that type of action."