Police chief continues his community outreach campaign

Hamtramck Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri held the department’s first community meeting last week at the Hamtramck Historical Museum where he presented his vision for the department.

By Charles Sercombe
As anyone who has paid attention to local social media knows, Hamtramck’s new Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri has been busy posting his travels around the city and the people he meets on social media.
Last week, Altaheri held his first public get-together at the Hamtramck Historical Museum, to reach out even more to the community.
The meeting also served as a way for him to introduce himself to residents and business owners.
“It’s important to have these meetings,” Altaheri said. “It’s nice to see each other in person.”
Altaheri spoke briefly on his upbringing in New York, as well as about his career in the New York Police Department (from which he recently retired, so as to be free to take on the role as police chief here).
He is the first Yemeni-American to be appointed to the job. Although he lived in New York ever since emigrating to the U.S. from Yemen when he was a young boy, Altaheri is no stranger to Hamtramck.
Several years ago, he brought his soccer team of young Yemeni kids here, to square off with local teams.
Why Hamtramck?
He had heard that there was a sizeable Yemeni community here.
“Life works in mysterious ways,” he said, about his past visit here and now living here as the city’s police chief. “Things happen for a reason, and I think that’s why we’re here today.”
During the hour-and-a-half presentation, Altaheri laid out his vision for the department.
One key tool that he has introduced is a method of compiling crime data, called Compstat, that the department will be posting weekly online.
This data, the chief said, will be useful in focusing patrols where crimes are spiking.
“The data is not used against you,” Altaheri said, for those concerned about the implication of Big Brother looking over your shoulder. “It’s used to help our job be more effective.’
It’s part of his overall plan to make the department “accountable, and also to be transparent.”
So what are the crime stats showing?
Andrew Robinson, who compiles the statistics, says there’s good news:
“Overall, our crime is, for the most part, either steady or down,” he said.
So, what’s down, crimewise?
Car thefts reported the biggest dip, down to 73, as of now, compared to last year’s 86 vehicles stolen.
Robberies have dropped also; 44 percent from last year, with 10 reported this year to date, compared to last year’s 18.
So far this year, there have been zero homicides. The city annually reports anywhere from two to four homicides per year.
Home break-ins have always posed a threat in Hamtramck. But this year, the city is on track to see fewer happening. There have been 73 break-ins this year, compared to last year’s 86.
While there was good news to share, there’s also the other side of the coin: Larcenies, or thefts, are on the rise – about 1,200 percent more this year than last.
But that increase is partly to be blamed on the state revising how it classifies larcenies to now also include retail fraud, Robinson said.
There has also been an uptick in mail theft, which Robinson said usually involves the theft of immigration documents from mailboxes. Considering that Hamtramck’s population is mostly people who are immigrants, that makes the community ripe pickings for those looking for immigration documents.
Regarding businesses, Altaheri said he has tasked Sergeant Luigi Gjokaj to be the Business Relations Supervisor. The aim of this office, and its program, is for officers to visit businesses, conduct inspections, and generally strengthen relationships with business owners.
Mayor Amer Ghalib was on hand for the public meeting as well, and he spoke briefly about what goals he has for the department. His main concern is one that a number of other people are also complaining about: drivers in the city speeding and/or being otherwise reckless.
“That’s something we have heard people complaining about so many times,” Ghalib said.
He added that the city “can’t have mercy on those people.”
The chief said he is still working on the details of a two-week program involving a variety of activities for Hamtramck youths in the age range of 12-15.
The community meetings, he said, will continue periodically.
Posted July 19, 2024