By David Fleet
Editor
Brandon Twp.- The National Council for Home Safety and Security released rankings for the safest cities in the nation and for each state last month. Among 200 Michigan communities reporting the township is ranked number 12.
“I’m very proud of the men and women assigned to this sub-station and the department in general,” said Lieutenant Greg Glover, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Brandon sub-station commander. “They take great pride in the community and they enjoy what they do for a reason. They are diligent in clearing cases, making arrests and prosecution.”
There are 15,962 residents in the township—violent crime was at .08 per 1,000 residents for 2019 down from 1.1 in 2018. The state average is 4.0 and the national average is 3.7. Property crime dropped in the township to 3.1 in 2019 down from 3.8 in 2018. The state average is 16.5 and the national average is 22 property crime rates. That means there was less than 1 violent crime and 3.1 property crimes per 1,000.

The statistics are complied by the National Council for Home Safety and Security is a national trade association comprised of licensed alarm installers, contractors, and other relevant trade groups across the United States. The council uses FBI and other law enforcement data in their findings. Communities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI were eliminated as well as communities with populations under 10,000.
“One of the reasons for our success is that we have a very high closure rate on our major cases,” said Glover, who has served for five years as lieutenant in Brandon with 32 years in law enforcement. “We close our cases by arrest or other exceptional means. We just don’t take the report, rather strive to solve the cases. It’s key for the deputy to find the responsible and seek prosecution.”
Glover also attributes the high ranking to their visibility in the township.
“We try to have a heavy presence in the township,” he said. “The patrolmen spend very little time in the substation. Part of having an effective patrol is being seen, it deters crime. In addition, the township citizens have always supported the department and the deputies understand that. We have a great group of residents here, and they always support the sheriff department.
Recently, that support was realized when several local businesses including Blackhawk Auto Repair, Little Caesars, Clawson-based Majestic Beds (who shifted to crafting much needed PPE), Tropical Smoothie, A&W, the Senior Sewing Club, Cook’s Farm Dairy, and Ashton Orchard reached out to department during the coronavirus pandemic with meals and supplies.
Oakland County had ten communities in the top 25 safest, and only Oakland and Addison townships were ranked higher than Brandon. The other ranking can be found at alarms.org/safest-cities-in-michigan-2019.