Andrew G. Arena on the Detroit Crime Commission
The Detroit Crime Commission was created in 2011 to conduct research, assist in investigations, educate the public, and help coordinate crime reduction activities. The group also assists in law enforcement training, and makes grants to fund law enforcement activities. Andrew G. Arena, Executive Director of the Detroit Crime Commission, was born in Dearborn and raised in southwest Detroit. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Detroit School of Law. At the conclusion of a long career with the FBI, including many management roles, Arena assumed the position in 2007 of special agent in charge of the Detroit Division of the bureau. He left that post in 2011 to join the DCC.
Thorpe: What are the origins of the commission?
Arena: About two years ago a group of business people and attorneys in the area got together and said, ‘What can we do to help?’ They looked at crime commissions around the country. There are a number of them out there that have been around a long time. Chicago’s been around about 100 years, New Orleans about 60 years. They then approached some law enforcement leaders, including me at the FBI. They talked to Kym Worthy at the prosecutor’s office. They asked us about the viability of the project. My advice to them was that it could work here if there was a defined role and mission and you ‘stay in a lane.’ That’s how it started.
Thorpe: What are some of the broad goals of the organization?
Arena: The two things that drive us are: How can we assist law enforcement and what are the gaps they need to fill, things they can’t get to? Criminal enterprises like fraud and arson get a lot of our attention. Second is quality of life issues that face people in the city of Detroit, with the main focus being civil nuisance abatement. There are 30,000 to 40,000 abandoned buildings in the city. We asked ourselves what we could do to focus on that problem. We’re also trying to get an education program off the ground. The first component is law enforcement education. It costs money to provide training and nobody has that money right now. We’re also doing landlord training where we teach landlords about their rights, duties and responsibilities and how they can address crime problems on their properties.
Thorpe: Tell us something about your leadership team?
Arena: I’m very proud of the team we’ve assembled. They’re all veteran law enforcement officers and officials with great reputations and a lot of experience. Ron Reddy is a 28-year veteran of the FBI. Ellis Stafford spent 24 years with the Michigan State Police including as second in command of operations in southeast Michigan. Lyle Dungy spent 26 years with the Detroit Police Department and, by the way, one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met in law enforcement. We’ve got state, local and federal experience in our group. We’ve also hired analysts and have a number of pro bono attorneys doing civil nuisance abatement. We have law clerks and interns from the University of Detroit Mercy. It’s a small team, but effective and tightly focused.
Thorpe: You’re not only involved in dealing with crimes that have already occurred, but also crime prevention and reducing the environment that crime thrives in. Tell us about that.
Arena: We’re trying to be predictive and use analytical tools to identify crime trends and get in front of them. In the area of civil nuisance abatement, if you look at abandoned buildings they’re not only eyesores and reduce property values, they’re ‘bastions of crime’ in these neighborhoods. They become drug houses, destinations for kids skipping school, magnets for ‘strippers’ who remove wiring and anything else they can carry away. And there are instances where women are dragged into them and assaulted. They become anchors for crime in the city of Detroit.
Thorpe: It’s only been a little over a year, but do you have any success stories to share?
Arena: To date we’ve referred more than 30 cases to law enforcement including the FBI, Secret Service, ATF, the Detroit Police Department and the Michigan State Police. They’ve ranged from felon in possession of a weapon to some pretty intricate fraud cases. They’re all in the pipeline and should emerge into the public eye soon. We’ve filed a number of civil nuisance suits and have already had five summary judgments. In that area what I’m proudest of is that some of these landlords have voluntarily abated the nuisance without us having to take action. The word is getting out that we’re coming after you. We’ve got a great legal team and we’ll see you in court. People are fixing up houses just based on us looking at them. That’s a win to me.
Thorpe: Tell us about the future of the commission.
Arena: It’s already grown larger than I expected and it continues to grow. We’re a partnership between citizens and law enforcement. I meet as much with community groups as I do with law enforcement. Even I’ve been surprised at the number of people coming to us asking for help. We have the funding for three to five years at our current size, but we’ve got to grow. I think you will see that growth and I think you’ll see our role grow, too.
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