Residents in some Detroit suburbs are crying foul because they’re paying a steep price for police protection, while other, richer communities are getting that service free from the Michigan State Police, the Detroit News reports. In Lyon Township homeowners pay an average of $300 per year in taxes so that Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies will patrol their neighborhoods. In neighboring Brighton Township, state troopers are on the job, at no expense to the township. “Does it bother me? Yeah. Our state tax dollars are paying for their police service,” said Janet Davio, 63, of Lyon.
The controversy is likely to grow as rural areas that depend on state police protection grow without adding their own police forces. Some Oakland County officials contend that wealthier communities on the outskirts of Detroit can offer businesses and residents more perks because they get free police protection. State police provide freeway patrols and support for other departments across the state; in some communities without their own police service, they provide more traditional patrols.
Link: http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0502/25/A01-100523.htm