The City of Plymouth Police Department is a multi-function agency. Police services are provided by 16 sworn and 2 civilian personnel. Within the department, there is a Detective Bureau, Records Bureau, Crime Prevention Unit and a Weighmaster function. Four sergeants and a lieutenant oversee the personnel. Dispatch services are provided by Plymouth Township Communications Center, located at Plymouth Township Police Department. Road patrols are divided into 12-hour day/12-hour night shift A & B platoons.
We strive to meet the individual needs of the citizens and visitors of the City of Plymouth. The Police Department provides a wide range of services to the community with everything from being locked out of their cars to crisis situations that may unfortunately happen.
Police Department Mission Statement
The Mission of the Plymouth Police Department is to provide the Community with superior policing through strict adherence to a values-based foundation of Honor, Commitment, Integrity, Leadership, Courage and Excellence.
Values Statement
Members of the Plymouth Police Department recognize that to effectively fulfill our Mission, Police Legitimacy must exist within our Community. It is therefore imperative that we always operate in a professional manner guided by the strongest of ethical principles. To this end, we will base our words and actions on an established set of values to be shared by all members of the organization. These values provide a common cause for all personnel and will be the foundation on which policy and procedure is developed. Our overall success as an agency or individual member is achieved through our dedication to the following values:
Honor
Law enforcement is a noble profession established in meaningful tradition and a strong history of public service and personal sacrifice by those who have gone before us. We will honor this legacy and carry it forward by staying true to our oath of office, always maintaining the public trust, and never forgetting those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Commitment
To protect and serve the community as a police officer is more than a job. It is a calling and a privilege that requires the heart of a servant. We are passionate about our calling and will do whatever it takes to excel in honorable service to our Community, our State, and our Country.
Integrity
We believe integrity is the foundation of community trust. We will perform all duties to the highest degree of honesty, ethical behavior, and professionalism. Accountability is required of all employees at every level of the organization.
Leadership
We believe that all of our employees are leaders. We value their contributions,
sacrifices and talents. We recognize that the best method of leadership is by example; therefore, we will model respect, professionalism, and lawful behavior.
Courage
We will display moral courage in the face of adversity to always stand for what is right. We will display physical courage in the face of danger to protect and defend human life from harm or death, even at risk to our own lives.
Excellence
We strive for personal and professional excellence in every aspect of our operation. From recruitment to training to assignment, excellence is the common standard. We will ensure that we deliver exceptional service to our community and our profession. Our service excellence will provide a better quality of life for our residents, visitors, and community partners.
A Note from Public Safety Director Al Cox
As your community’s Director of Public Safety, I believe it’s important that our residents, business owners and visitors are confident in the way that our police department functions. From police procedure to Community Policing to our casual interaction with all people, we place a high value on each individual and take our service to the community very seriously.
All members of the Plymouth Police Department understand that to effectively carry out our duties and earn the trust of our community, we must conduct ourselves professionally and with the highest ethical standards every day. In order to accomplish this, we operate from a foundation of six core values on which policies, procedures and directives are developed: Honor, Commitment, Integrity, Leadership, Courage and Excellence. We exist to serve and protect the residents and visitors of the City of Plymouth. We work to make people feel welcome in the City and we expect our officers to treat people the way that they would want to be treated
Our department spends a significant amount of money each year on police training across a broad range of topics, including use of force and de-escalation. Additionally, some of our officers receive more subject matter-specific training, such as crisis intervention and medical first responder.
We believe this training works. In 2019, our department had only nine use of force incidents out of 15,408 calls for service and countless more interactions with residents and visitors. Of these nine incidents, six involved empty hand techniques in which subjects were resisting arrest, one involved the use of a Taser in which an individual was actively attempting to assault an officer, and two involved the display of firearms as officers executed a felony traffic stop. The number of use of force incidents has been decreasing over the past several years, and there has been no use of lethal force by our department since 2012.
All our policies comply with federal and state statutes, case law, current best practices, and Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) guidelines and requirements. We constantly review our policies and procedures to ensure that we keep up to date on all the above listed compliance factors.
When residents have questions or concerns about the police department, an officer, or the handling of an incident, they are always welcome to contact a Command Officer who will listen to their concerns and address them appropriately. This includes complaints against officers, all of which are investigated thoroughly. While we do our best to provide superior policing, we understand that our members are human beings and that mistakes can happen from time to time. When such things happen and an investigation reveals that discipline is required, that discipline is carried out in a fair, judicious, and just manner for the officer, department, and community.
Our Community Policing initiatives, such as Coffee with a Cop, the Truth about Drugs program at East Middle School and the Shop with a Cop program, which is sponsored by the Plymouth Police Officers Association, engage the community in many different ways.
As a department, we strive to be better every day and work to be the best ambassadors of the City of Plymouth, while earning the respect of our residents and visitors.