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. Among 50 Michigan communities reporting the township is ranked number 19.
“I’m very proud of the men and women assigned to this substation and the department in general,” said Lieutenant Greg Glover, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Brandon substation commander. “I have had some very good detectives and a great staff of patrolman, when it comes to the types of crimes the FBI keeps close statistics on we have had a very good closure rate of making arrest on those crimes with convictions.”
The township substation responds to about 9,000 calls per year, said Glover.
“They take great pride in the community and they enjoy what they do for a reason,” he added “They are diligent in clearing cases, making arrests and prosecution.”
There are 16,161 residents in the township plus about 1,500 in Ortonville—violent crime was at 1.3 per 1,000 residents for 2022, up slightly from 2021 at .07 and 2020 at .08.
The violent crime state average is 4.8 and the national average is 4.0.
Property crime dropped in the township to 1.9 in 2022, down from 3.1 in 2021, and 3.1 in 2020.
That means there were slightly more than 1 violent crime and 1.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents.
The property crime state average is 13.6 and the national average is 19.6.
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 seven years as lieutenant in Brandon with 35 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.”
Oakland County had 23 communities in the top 50 safest, and only Oakland, Addison and Highland townships, along with Rochester, Farmington and Huntington Woods were ranked higher than Brandon Township.