Ann Arbor Police

Jun 9 23:21 UTC 1993

How do you feel about the AA police?  Aside from this silly business
of hiring more traffic control officers to raise city revenues from
traffic violations, I think they do a pretty good job.

response 2 of 32:

Jun 9 23:23 UTC 1993

I wish I could get rent like that.

response 4 of 32:

Jun 10 11:18 UTC 1993

Really?  I thought that was a '60s thing.  :)

Can't say I've ever had any problems with the Ann Arbor police, or
much direct contact at all for that matter, but recently I've noticed
an increased visible presence in the community.  When I walk or drive
around town these days, I seem to see more police cars than any time
I can remember, and I've lived in the Ann Arbor area for 30 years.
Is the police force significantly larger than it's been in the past?

response 6 of 32:

Jun 16 14:27 UTC 1993

I'm not sure that they are any better than cops anywhere.  I can never forget:
"There are criminals on both sides of the law."  Remember, law enforcement is a
business, just like any other.  The have to make money. They will stop at
nothing to do that.

response 8 of 32:

Jun 18 04:28 UTC 1993

This big police presence seems to me to be overkill.  It seems rare these days
if I go more than four blocks without seeing a police car.  I think the idea
behind this was to get the police out in to the community (Community Oriented
Policing) so that they would know the people in the neighborhood they are
patrolling, thus creating more trust.  In theory, this would work wonderfully,
but since they almost never get out of their cars, unless there is a problem,
or a traffic violation, that doesn't actually happen.  There is a difference
between knowing the police who are patrolling your neighborhood, and knowing
what color the police car that drives around the neighborhood is.

response 10 of 32:

Jun 22 02:28 UTC 1993

Even without beat-cops, I know most of the people on the Ann Arbor Police
force.Another Improvement it might make, people would think twice about
breaking the law in this city.

response 12 of 32:

Jun 23 01:24 UTC 1993

Someone pick up the phone while you were typing?

response 14 of 32:

Jul 5 20:10 UTC 1993

Sneak attack on your bank account. 

response 16 of 32:

May 8 06:14 UTC 1994

the cops are becoming an increasing problem at shows and parties. I went to a
party just last night and there were two incidents with cops. And another show
I went to got broke up by the cops.  A community center that we are trying to 
establish will have to be done so many things so that the cops wont break it
up. and they'll probably still break it up. like the lab.

response 18 of 32:

May 9 01:33 UTC 1994

        Even though I'm normally very supportiave of people being able to
do what they want to without police interference, living in North Burns
Park I know that the noise ordinance is very necessary to preserve the
peace of the neighbors.  There are two fraternaties accross the street
from my house, and two more down the street, and their parties can get
very out of hand at times.  I don't generally hear the noise, since my
room is on the side of the house and well shielded, but my parents have
real problems with the noise since their bedroom is at the front of the
house.  In the last couple of years, since the police started enforcing
the noise ordinance and giving tickets to frats that had noisy parties,
the noise problem has decreased significantly.  It is now to the point
where there are maybe two or three noisy parties a year, and it quiets
down very quickly after they get the idea that noisy parties will not be
tollerated.  Before teh ordinance was enforced, however,noise was a huge
problem.  It was impossible to sleep in the front bedrooms ofour house on
the weekends during much of the year.  As much as it must suck to have
your party busted, it probably means that you have given the neigbors
significant cause to call the police.

response 20 of 32:

May 14 19:09 UTC 1994

I don't know the "word" besides whats been in the newspapers, but I
think it unconscionable that the police kept the information about
the prior serial rapes quiet while they were "pursuing the case". 
Complete openness about those events might have led to greater
neighborhood caution, and perhaps prevented the rape-murder. 

response 22 of 32:

May 14 21:19 UTC 1994

Positive action is vastly better than avoidance. If the police had
alerted everyone at the first sign of serial rapist out there, the
rapist might have changed his habits (or even skeddadled), and more

people would have armed themselves with mace/pepper, and been more
on the alert. *Now* people are arming themselves: earlier would have
been better. 

response 24 of 32:

May 15 03:18 UTC 1994

Getting back on topic...  I've always been impressed by the behavior of
police here in Ann Arbor.  Compared to other places in Michigan (where the
police can be downright red-necked), they're cool.  I have to agree with
TS Taylor's (interrupted) statement that the laws are the problem, not the 
cops.  Some of he speed regulations are ridiculous (hard to follow, I guess,
would be a good way to put it).  And the parking situation is getting worse 
again...  It's easier to notice bad laws when they are more rigourously 
enforced...