CANTON, Mich. (WXYZ) — As the city of Canton celebrates its Liberty Fest this week, 7 Action News anchor Brian Abel spoke with Police Chief Chad Baugh for our series called "Check-in with the Chief."
Baugh said the department’s biggest challenges right now are recruiting and retention.
“Recently, you’ve seen with some of the legislation passed the state of Michigan is trying to help every one of us in this field maintain our forces and provide the public safety,” Baugh said.
He said the department works to serve everyone in the community.
“We have a community that people come from all over the world. They come to this state and people seek out Canton because look at Canton, it’s beautiful,” Baugh said. “We represent everyone. We have an inclusive community, we focus on it, we’re intentional and it’s not a mirage.”
One of the biggest trends Baugh said the department is seeing is more larceny-based crimes and an increase in guns on the streets.
“The amount of people carrying guns,” he said. “Our officers are dealing with that daily.”
When thinking of the city of Canton, Baugh said he thinks of family.
“The first thing that comes to my mind is where I raised my family, the folks I see at church on the weekends and the folks I see at Meijer on the weekend. I just think of how we can go about our business knowing that we’re safe, that we have a beautiful place to live, and that’s on the backs of these wonderful police officers who work for us.”
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