The Department of Public Safety (DPS) will be cooperating in a multi-agency task force formed by the Ann Arbor Police to identify and apprehend the man believed to be responsible for a homicide and series of rapes in Ann Arbor over the past two years.
The task force is comprised of 12 investigators and a secretary from the Ann Arbor Police Department; two detectives each from DPS, Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police Post in Ypsilanti; and three investigators from the Criminal Intelligence Division Office of the Michigan State Police in Livonia. Other support staff will be added to computerize the hundreds of tips received and to analyze the data.
The task force is being housed in space provided by DPS. Members of the University community with information about potential suspects can contact the task force at 994-9297 or phone the tip line at 996-3199. The task force requests that community members do not call these numbers to obtain general information about the investigation.
In addition to providing assistance with the investigation, DPS has responded to safety concerns by increasing the number of foot and bicycle patrols on campus.
Students, staff, faculty and visitors to campus are encouraged to use one of several available escort services if walking alone on campus after dark. (For a complete listing of services, see page 12.)
According to Debra Cain, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC), campus escort services have been receiving about six times the usual number of calls since the most recent assault, next to Community High School, was reported. “The student staff and student volunteers have really risen to the occasion, and DPS has provided tremendous support as we work through logistics,” Cain says. Requests for SAPAC self-defense workshops also have doubled to about 10 per week.
For information about SAPAC programs, call 763-5865.
