Saline Police Department Plans Sunday Open House, Invites Public to Share Feedback on Strategic Plan

The Saline Police Department invites the public to tour its station, check out their police cars, and explore special equipment brought by their friends from other law enforcement agencies.

The community session, held from 2-4 p.m., Sunday, July 25, at 100 N. Harris Street, is part of a strategic planning session that began in September of 2020. 

"We want people to come in and see the building where work, to see the equipment we use and to showcase our outstanding staff - paid and volunteer," Police Chief Jerrod Hart said.

Highlights include:

• Kids are invited to sit in an SPD cruiser.
• US Secret Service agent Jennifer Day will be photographing and fingerprinting children for child identification kits.
• Michigan State Police will be there with its bomb squad and K-9 unit.
• People can meet police department leadership, police officers, reserves and members of the Volunteers in Public Safety. The Saline Police explorers program, designed for youth who might go into the profession, will also be there.
• The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office is expected to be there with its heavily armored mobile command unit
• The police department will do bicycle registrations, taking pictures and providing tags.
• Pizza, popcorn and water will be served.
• A calendar giveaway and a raffle.

In the city council chambers, members of the strategic planning team, led by consultant Diane Mukkala, will go over a draft of the strategic plan and seek public feedback.

"We are gathering community input on the programs and services the public wants the Saline Police Department to provide," Hart said.

To date, the planning guide has identified several priorities, Hart said. Internally, the department is looking for ways to recruit and retain the best police officers. From the public's perspective, Hart said, there has been a lot of talk about the police department needing to be prepared to handle mental health calls.

"We need to make sure we are handling mental health calls in a proficient manner, with empathy and compassion, while maintaining public safety," Hart said.

Hart said he hopes the strategic plan will be finished by September.

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