According to the Daily Tribune, Birmingham is one of five communities that are joining together to form MCAT, the Major Care Assistance Team. Joining Birmingham will be Auburn Hills, Clawson, Troy, and Bloomfield Township.
MCAT will allow these five departments to share personnel and resources during investigations, which will help police investigate serious crimes in a quicker and more efficient manner. By having officers from these five departments working together, the goal is to have increased manpower, while lowering costs for the individual departments at the same time. Instead of one department having the burden of financing an investigation and paying the officers' overtime wages, the costs and hours can now be distributed among each of the five departments.
According to C&G News, the coalition was originally proposed by Troy Police Capt. Keith Frye after he heard of a similar alliance in Chicago. Frye said that he hoped that MCAT would not only reduce costs, but increase the effectiveness of investigations by having more experienced officers on the case during the critical first 72 hours as well.
MCAT will be made up of 10 investigators: three from Troy, two each from Birmingham, Auburn Hills, and Bloomfield Township, and one from Clawson. Birmingham's MCAT representatives are Cmdr. Mark Clemence and Detective Matt Baldwin.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
James L. Smith talks with JRN 411 students about crime reporting
Retired crime beat reporter and former police officer, James L. Smith visited Oakland University's Journalism 411 class on Thursday to share his experience both as an officer and a reporter where he extended advice for covering crime.
Smith spent seven years as an officer of the law in the state of California before he relocated to become a crime reporter for The Oakland Press and the Flint Journal in Michigan.
"The business looks a lot different from the other side of the windshield," Smith said about his time as a police officer.
Because of his experience in law enforcement, Smith shared how important the relationships are between reporters and police officers when covering crime in a community.
"Information is power, information is everything," Smith said, commenting on how police departments in the past, were much more willing to release information to the public to reassure their community that officers were doing their job.
Smith said he worries now because some police departments in Michigan have made it difficult to access police reports or other public documents -- a problem that students in our Journalism 411 class have encountered.
Smith also offered ideas and ways for getting to a "back story" or a behind-the-scenes look at a newsworthy topic. For him, Smith said it was mainly the relationships he developed with officers and law enforcement agents but sometimes it was pure luck, he said.
He also shared his strangest encounters while covering crime as a reporter as well as his opinions on Internet reporting and syndication.
Smith continues to write for the Lapeer School District and blogs at www.FreeFromEditors.blogspot.com but "[police reporting] is really my true love," he said.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Sgt. Terry Kiernan interview
By Jacob Thielen
October 14, 2009
This interview took place on Oct. 14 at the Birmingham Police Department. I spoke with Sgt. Kiernan for a little over two minutes about his time with the department. I asked how long he had been a sergeant for and what he liked most about the job, among other things.
October 14, 2009
This interview took place on Oct. 14 at the Birmingham Police Department. I spoke with Sgt. Kiernan for a little over two minutes about his time with the department. I asked how long he had been a sergeant for and what he liked most about the job, among other things.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Miguel Cabrera incident puts spotlight on Birmingham
Last week, details emerged about an incident that took place at the Birmingham home of Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Cabrera had been out partying in the early morning hours of Oct. 3 at Birmingham's Townsend Hotel. Reports indicate that Cabrera was with members of the Chicago White Sox, the Tigers' opponent that weekend.
Birmingham Police Chief Richard Patterson said that when Cabrera returned home, he and his wife began arguing. Cabrera's wife called police at 6:05 a.m. to report that they were fighting.
The officers who responded to the call observed that both Miguel Cabrera and his wife had sustained minor injuries. According to the police report obtained by the Detroit Free Press, the two had been fighting over a cell phone that Miguel had been using. Cabrera's wife insisted that he should leave the house, and Miguel agreed.
Police then took Cabrera to the Birmingham Police Department, where he was later picked up by the Tigers' general manager, Dave Dombrowski.
Commander Mark Clemence said that Cabrera registered a .26 blood-alcohol level when he was tested, which is more than three times the legal limit of .08.
Cabrera went 0-4 in Saturday night's game, which included a crucial double play groundout in the eighth inning. He then went 0-3 on Sunday to finish the series at 0-11.
Cabrera apologized to his teammates before the Tigers' one game playoff against Minnesota on Oct. 6. The Tigers lost that game 6-5 in 12 innings.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Cabrera had been out partying in the early morning hours of Oct. 3 at Birmingham's Townsend Hotel. Reports indicate that Cabrera was with members of the Chicago White Sox, the Tigers' opponent that weekend.
Birmingham Police Chief Richard Patterson said that when Cabrera returned home, he and his wife began arguing. Cabrera's wife called police at 6:05 a.m. to report that they were fighting.
The officers who responded to the call observed that both Miguel Cabrera and his wife had sustained minor injuries. According to the police report obtained by the Detroit Free Press, the two had been fighting over a cell phone that Miguel had been using. Cabrera's wife insisted that he should leave the house, and Miguel agreed.
Police then took Cabrera to the Birmingham Police Department, where he was later picked up by the Tigers' general manager, Dave Dombrowski.
Commander Mark Clemence said that Cabrera registered a .26 blood-alcohol level when he was tested, which is more than three times the legal limit of .08.
Cabrera went 0-4 in Saturday night's game, which included a crucial double play groundout in the eighth inning. He then went 0-3 on Sunday to finish the series at 0-11.
Cabrera apologized to his teammates before the Tigers' one game playoff against Minnesota on Oct. 6. The Tigers lost that game 6-5 in 12 innings.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel visits OU
When Mark Hackel, the sheriff of Macomb County, visited Thursday, October 8 in one of Oakland University’s Gold rooms, he discussed with students and faculty how the media and law enforcement have a special sort of relationship.
He detailed his experiences with the 2007 Tara Grant murder case from Washington Township as well as the Marilou Johnson case that followed a month and a half later in the Bruce Township.
In the telling of these two experiences, the sheriff talked about his relationships with reporters along the way and how some instances were better than others.
Hackel shared how at times media coverage of a case can become a hassle when officers are in the process of investigation – with the news helicopters flying overhead and what not.
But on the other hand, Hackel also showed his respect to news hounds and their initiative to investigate and get answers in areas where the law creates boundaries for officers.
The sheriff shared how sometimes it’s a game when the media is heavily involved in an on-going case and there is a suspect or “person of interest” who is not willing to talk with law enforcement. Hackel says the media and news coverage is a great way to get a message out for that specific person of interest, as in the Stephen Grant situation.
“This case was solved and resolved because of the assistance with the media,” the sheriff said, referring to the Stephen Grant trial.
Hackel also gave advice to journalism students regarding media and officer relationships. He said that individuals should be respectful but to “test or challenge law enforcement, if we are wrong, we need to fix it…the most important thing is an individual’s rights.”
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
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