24/7 operation with complete Police and Fire protection.
January 2012 the City of Ecorse began making history not only within it's own city but surrounding-communities. Ecorse has implemented a Public Safety Department, the 1st of it's kind in the Downriver area. The City of Ecorse since 2009 has made great strides to think outside the box while learning to do more with less and get back on a fiscally responsible track. As local governments have been affected by the economy and housing markets their coffers are near depleted if not running in the red. Surrounding downriver communities are beginning to follow in the City of Ecorse's innovative foot steps by also implementing a Public Safety Department. With employees retiring, hiring another employee even at lower wages and limited if any benefits to replace the retiree just isn't a viable solution with rising costs without putting the burden back on taxpayers.
As 2012 comes to end the Ecorse Police Department is nearly all cross-trained as Public Safety Officer's (PSO). The process should be completed by July 2013. Some may ask why it takes so long to implement but the City of Ecorse is working very thoroughly to speed the process up. Each Police Officer will have attended Schoolcraft College of Livonia fire technology academy where they will become certified by the State of Michigan in Firefighter I & II. This is a full-time academy that is approximately 9 weeks long that will provide them with comprehensive training in fire suppression, prevention procedures and skill development. This training is only the beginning.
Each of the PSO's will not only receive the basics needed to complete the tasks at hand of life safety, fire prevention and property preservation but they will receive continuous advanced training that is needed for both Police and Fire services. This training will ensure the citizens of Ecorse will not only have a modern day Public Safety Department but it will make the department that much more efficient when it comes to budgets and also in customer service.
When trained as a PSO the Police Officer you see answering Police runs or on patrol will now also be responding to fire scenes. A trained PSO will essentially performing both jobs simultaneously throughout their shift while still receiving the same salary. This makes it possible to only pay one person to perform two separate jobs.
This process was achieved by obtaining an Economic Vitality Incentive Program grant (EVIP). The EVIP grant later renamed by the State of Michigan as Competitive Grant Assistance Program (CGAP). The CGAP provided the funding the City of Ecorse needed to cross-train the Police Officers to become certified Firefighters. This has paid for salaries, training and equipment needed for the transition.
To protect and serve the citizens and visitors of the City of Ecorse by enforcing state law and local ordinances.
