Canton Police Department

The Canton Police Department is committed to fostering a culture of accountability and transparency within the community that we protect and serve. As a part of this effort, the department has created police data dashboards to provide the public with timely, accurate, and actionable data. To further our commitment to transparency, please click the link to view our forward facing  policy documents .

The public information on this site reflects data stored in Canton Police Departments Records Management System and is subject to change as classification changes sometimes occur during investigative follow-up. The statistics shown are for informational purposes only and should not be considered official counts for the Department, unless otherwise stated.

The Canton Police Department is dedicated to providing a service-oriented, constitutional, and holistic policing model that represents best practices in Law Enforcement by policing in a professional, unbiased, and transparent manner. Chief Chad Baugh

The Canton Police Department responds yearly to approximately 2,300 public road and private property accidents. Canton Police Officers work tirelessly to ensure that the Canton commuting community is safe as they travel on our streets. Please report all crashes to the police department. Below, you will find an interactive map listing Canton's top 3 crash sites.

Regionally, the  Southeastern Michigan Counsel of Government   (SEMCOG) website provides traffic crash information, traffic safety, and security tips, along with an interactive map showing up-to-date regional crash information. For more traffic crash statistic information, including crashes over the past decade, annual reports, and more, please view the  Michigan State Police-  Crash Reports and Statistics  website.

The response to resistance process requires its own independent investigation of each incident to determine its legality and ensure compliance with departmental policy.

The Canton Police Department views each citizen contact as an opportunity to further our connection with the community we serve. Unfortunately, circumstances do occur when Canton officers must use force to respond to resistance. Canton Police Department officers undergo extensive de-escalation training, use of force training, and bias-based training. Continuous training allows our officers to fully understand when and how to respond to resistance keeping everyone, including our officers, safe - Chief Chad Baugh

For further information on how the Canton Police Department compares to other agencies when force is used, please click on the link below.

A citation or a ticket is a legal notice to a person or motor vehicle charged with a violation of law, especially a minor violation. A citation can be a civil infraction or a misdemeanor depending on the seriousness of the traffic violation. When an officer is unable to determine race and gender, the categories are marked as unknown. Please follow this link to contact the  35th District Court  or pay a  citation .

A traffic stop is a temporary detention of a driver of a vehicle by police to investigate a traffic or criminal violation of the law.

The U.S. Constitution's    Fourth Amendment  authorizes arrests only if the police have "   probable cause   " to believe that a crime was committed and the suspect did it. The purpose of an arrest is to bring the arrestee before a court or otherwise secure the administration of the law. An arrest serves the function of notifying the community that an individual has been accused of a crime and may deter the arrested individual from committing other crimes. While arrests can be made on criminal and civil charges, detention for a civil offense is not common.

.

Canton Police Department is one of 588 departments in the State of Michigan. However, Canton is one of only 16 CALEA-certified agencies in the State of Michigan. As such, our CALEA certification requires us to have policies to address employee expectations and conduct. Additionally, the Canton Police Department has policies based on law enforcement best practices and the law, ranging from officer appearance standards to the use of deadly force. Please follow this  link  for more information on CALEA and how it helps the Canton Police Department better serve our community.

Further, the Canton Police Department utilizes a software program where all citizen complaints are tracked by age, race, sex, and type of complaint. This information also includes a final disposition of all complaints filed. The Canton Police Department can identify behavior patterns that provide pertinent information through this tracking system.

The Canton Police Department responds to and initiates hundreds of calls for service each day, most of which do not result in enforcement action. Non-enforcement calls for service include crime reports and prevention, community policing activities, requests for assistance, and many others.

Throughout the year, the department participates in community outreach programs to provide informative face-to-face opportunities for residents and business owners to talk with officers about community concerns and general public safety. 

For information on community outreach opportunities, contact the Canton Police Department at 734/394-5400.

April is Autism Awareness Month, and the Canton Police Department is proud to add calming kits to each patrol vehicle. Calming kits help regulate the emotions that accompany stress or anxiety. Additionally, each officer has access to an Autism Profile and Emergency Contact Form that can help officers better understand how to help when responding to a residence.

 ^{The “Canton Coalition for Inclusive Communities (CCIC)” believes strongly in the dignity of the individual and breaking down barriers to create a safe, welcoming, and inclusive community by working together to secure the right of every person in the Canton community to be free from hate crimes and/or bias-motivated incidents.} 

The Coalition is committed to:

• Developing and building trust.
• Engaging our diverse population.
• Serving as a liaison between law enforcement and our community partners.
• Positively impacting our community.
• Engaging in educational initiatives.
• Advancing Canton’s equality.

For additional information about the CCIC, contact the Canton Police Department at 734/394-5420 or click the link below.

A Police Transparency and Guidance committee, also known as a civilian oversight or review board, serves as an independent entity responsible for promoting transparency and accountability within law enforcement agencies. The primary purpose of such a committee is to build trust between the community and the police department, ensure that law enforcement practices are fair and just, and provide oversight of police actions. On average, the Canton Police Transparency and Guidance Subcommittee (PTAG) reviews 20-25 citizen police complaints and 10-15 use-of-force investigations annually. Here are some of the key functions and responsibilities of a police transparency committee:

Reviewing Police Conduct: Examine cases of alleged police misconduct, excessive use of force, racial profiling, and other issues related to police behavior. They investigate complaints from the public and incidents brought to their attention by the police department.

Transparency and Reporting: They promote transparency by publishing reports and findings related to their reviews. This can include statistics on police interactions, complaints trends, and improvement recommendations.

Training and Education: They may collaborate with law enforcement agencies to develop training programs for officers that focus on community policing, cultural sensitivity, and de-escalation techniques.

The goal of the Police Transparency and Guidance Subcommittee of the Canton Coalition for Inclusive Communities is to bring clarity to challenging police/citizen events and to understand not only how the police operate but also understand the expectations of the citizens whom the Canton Police protect and serve. It is incumbent upon a successful police/citizen partnership to ensure reality to the historical tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police. Each of the Subcommittee’s examinations will focus on understanding and ensuring excellent service for all citizens of our community.

Members of the Subcommittee live or work full-time in Canton and are members of the Canton Coalition for Inclusive Communities; a Coalition brought together by the Canton Police Department. As much as possible, the members are representative of the population of Canton in terms of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and physical disability.

The Subcommittee serves in an advisory capacity to the Canton Police Department, reviewing citizen complaints after the internal investigation is concluded. The Subcommittee reviews redacted patrol car camera footage; police officer body camera footage; case reports; internal investigation documents; witness statements; and correspondence. The Subcommittee considers the totality of the complaint cycle to make recommendations for improvements/adjustments to Department policy, procedure, training, or other processes to improve the Department’s service to the community.

The subcommittee does not interfere with the Department’s ongoing operations. It does not serve as an appellate body but rather as a group of citizen representatives who objectively review the totality of the citizen complaint process and recommend improvements to the Department’s practices from a layperson’s perspective. The subcommittee ensures the opportunity for the citizens to be present in police programming.

For additional information about the Police Transparency and Guidance Subcommittee, contact the Canton Police Department at 734/394-5420