Short-handed Ypsilanti police have 1 detective, bring in outside help

YPSILANTI TWP., Mich. (FOX 2) - Staffing is so short at the Ypsilanti Police Department, it has been forced to bring in help from the county's sheriff's office for some investigations.

"Quite frankly they’re throwing us a lifeline," said Chief Kirk Moore.

And the city of Ypsilanti's police has just one detective handling all of the investigations. The cause lies with a cluster of recent retirements and a lack of new recruits, creating the perfect storm.

"We have had one primary investigator to handle capital cases that is not a sustainable scenario for any jurisdiction," Moore said.

Staffing shortages are everywhere in policing and at this department, its becoming critical. 

"This summer has been particularly unusual for this county from what I know, in terms of some of the violent crime," the chief said. "In my jurisdiction, there have been a stabbing and several shootings."

That one detective has been overloaded. That’s why after just three months as Ypsilanti’s top cop – Chief Kirk Moore is enlisting the help of Washtenaw County Sheriff’s deputies.

Their detectives are on standby starting next week to handle homicides, attempted murders, suspicious deaths and other high-profile crimes.

"We will assign an investigator and they will take that investigation all the way through to conclusion," said Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton.

Clayton says his detectives are busy, dealing with 10 homicides in their county jurisdictions in June alone.

"Since June we have had a spate of homicides, the suspects connected to those homicides have all been identified and arrested and arraigned or in the court system," he said.

But, he says they are the right people for this added workload - and the proof is in their clearance rates, that’s the measure of crimes solved.

"Overall clearance rate for violent crime is 61 percent, which is almost double the national average," Clayton said. "So we have the staff to do it."

This sheriff’s office aid will last for 120 days, but Sheriff Clayton says they’ll backfill as long as it’s needed.

Chief Moore says it gives them some breathing room to train new detectives and beef up the investigative unit.

"Victims of crimes need to understand and know that we are going to be tenacious about serving the public," he said. "And this effort is another step in ensuring the community is serviced to the correct level."