Saginaw Police Department IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

-----------------------FOR-IMMEDIATE RELEASE--------------------

SPD COMMUNITY POLICING PROGRAM TO IMPLEMENT QUADRANT SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM (QSDS)

SAGINAW, MI, April 24^th, 2014 – The Saginaw Police Department (SPD), in conjunction with the City of Saginaw’s SCENIC Department, has announced the SPD will be expanding its Community Police Officer ( CPO) program city wide beginning in May 2014 with the introduction of the Quadrant Service Delivery System (QSDS).

'We have been trying to find a way to better deliver services to Saginaw’s citizens through our community policing program, “said Saginaw Police Chief Brian Lipe” This program combines a number of resources and puts them at immediate disposal of our CPOs and solutions to criminal activity and quality-of-life issues.”

The new program expands on community police officers being assigned to smaller geographic neighborhoods and, essentially, divides Saginaw into four quadrants and assigns a CPO to each.  When the program rolls out there will be a community police officer assigned to every area of the City.  Additionally, each CPO will have full service support from the city which allows them to deal with issues in a speedy manner, according to John Stemple, Saginaw’s Chief Inspector.  Each quadrant will have assigned a SCENIC code enforcement officer, a parking enforcement officer and an environmental crew with a trash hauler for cleaning up trash and debris.  Between the community police officer, inspectors, environmental personnel, fire department personnel, a parking enforcement officer and department personnel, and neighborhood group leadership, Stemple estimates there will be about 13 people available per quadrant to assist with neighborhood issues.

"This program is designed to focus our human resources in specific areas to significantly reduce crime, blight and nuisances in our neighborhoods, said Stemple, “while at the same time building better relationships with our residents so that those resources are directed where the people want them.

Lipe states one more police officer will be added to the current compliment of three CPOs to achieve the number of officers needed to run the quadrant program effectively.  Officer Patrick Busch was chosen to join veteran community police officers Jon Beyerlein, Leon Burns and Nate Voelker.

"Officer Busch has shown a lot of initiative as a patrol officer and I think his high energy level is conducive to what we are trying to accomplish with this new program,” Lipe said.

Geographically, Saginaw's four quadrants will align as follows:

Quadrant #1 - West side Saginaw north of Court Street (Officer Busch),
Quadrant #2 - west side Saginaw south of Court Street (Officer Voelker).
Quadrant #3 - East side Saginaw north of Holland Avenue (Officer Burns).
Quadrant #4 - East side Saginaw south of Holland Avenue (Officer Beyerlein).

Lipe said he expects the new system to build on, and even grow, already established neighborhood groups.

"Even though the Saginaw Police Department has experienced financial challenges in recent years, one of the things I am most proud to say is we have cultivated wonderful relationships with Saginaw’s neighborhood associations and groups who are out there trying to make Saginaw a better place,” Lipe said.  We plan on building on those relationships by offering what we consider a full-service approach to policing, code enforcement and environmental issues.”