Ypsilanti police partner with Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office amid staffing shortages
YPSILANTI, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Ypsilanti Police Department is temporarily partnering with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office to respond to and investigate major crimes as the department faces staffing shortages.
Starting Monday, Aug. 7, the Ypsilanti police will be able to request assistance from the sheriff's office to investigate serious crimes in the city that would require resources beyond what the department is capable of right now.
The temporary assistance will be for 120 days, or about four months.
Ypsilanti police say the major crimes they may request assistance with include homicides, attempted murder, suspicious deaths and other high-profile crimes.
"My unwavering commitment to providing professional public safety services to this community is reflected in this collaborative agreement with the Sheriff's Office," said Ypsilanti Police Chief Kirk Moore. "The Ypsilanti Police Department is committed to its mission, vision, and values which ensure we maintain a level of accountability during this collaboration."
The assistance is aimed at improving response times for serious crimes, therefore preventing crimes, enhancing best practices and creating a more cohesive outreach to help build trust with community members.
"Consistent with our mission and values, we're pleased to be able to collaborate with the city and the Police Department to ensure timely response and investigation of serious or major crimes when requested," said Washtenaw County Sheriff Clayton. "We have exceptional investigators who have suspects in custody on all our most recent homicides and who carry a major case closure rate more than double the national average. We anticipate no impact on other operations and services as a result of the collaboration."
