When Marthara Walker moved to Oak Park a decade ago, he didn't know his new town had public safety officers.
They dress like police officers but also do the job of firefighters.
"My garage caught fire some years ago. That's how I found out," Walker, 49, said last week. "The policeman came and he opened his trunk and pulled out the gear" to fight the fire, said the retired construction worker.
The system is nothing new for Oak Park, which in 1954 became the largest city in the nation to blend its firefighters into a public safety department, for an instant savings of at least 30%, city officials said.
But as budget cutting in community budgets reaches a crisis point, other communities are considering the change, according to Michigan State University experts in criminal justice.
Across metro Detroit, other public safety departments are in the five Grosse Pointes in Wayne County, Center Line and Fraser in Macomb County, and Berkley, Bloomfield Hills, Farmington and Huntington Woods in Oakland County.
An MSU team of researchers has begun this month what they call the first comprehensive study of public safety departments nationwide, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks, study director Jeremy Wilson said.
The two-year study, funded by a $344,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, aims to provide "solid data, not just anecdotes," so that communities can decide whether public safety is right for them, said Wilson, research director at the MSU School of Criminal Justice.
The issue could be crucial in Michigan, where Gov. Rick Snyder has encouraged merging services at the local level for cost savings. Nationwide, about 125 communities have public safety departments, with at least 39 in Michigan, Wilson said.
"For some reason, Michigan is the leader," he said. But opposition to the change can be "visceral," especially from firefighers' unions, he said.
In Oakland County, Pleasant Ridge is training its officers and hopes to change from separate fire and police service to a public safety merger with Berkley in a year or two, Pleasant Ridge Mayor Ralph Castelli said.
The consolidated department "might become a model for other cities in the region, especially with everybody's budget strapped," Castelli said.
Oak Park, with a population of more than 29,000, spends about $8 million a year on its public safety department, director John McNeilance said.
To make it work, "it requires a lot of teamwork and flexibility. Our staff has to be prepared to pitch in on anything," McNeilance said.
In contrast, neighboring Ferndale with a population of less than 20,000 spends about $10 million a year to fund its separate police and fire departments, Ferndale Fire Chief Kevin Sullivan said. But Sullivan said the separate departments provide a higher quality of service.
"My firefighters are already doing two jobs -- staying on top of technical rescue and hazardous materials cleanups and paramedic training," he said.
Voters in Harper Woods in May turned down the opportunity to try public safety after strong resistance from the firefighters union, including a lawsuit settled in their favor in the state appeals court in January.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
