After serving as Eastpointe’s interim police chief for the past six months, Corey Haines was sworn in as the permanent head of the city’s law enforcement department on Tuesday.
“He got an idea of where we were, what we needed and came in and kind of hit the ground running,” said Eastpointe City Manager Mariah Walton.
Haines was hired as the interim police chief last July after former public safety director George Rouhib accepted a job in Rochester.
Walton said during the past six months, Haines was able to bring a school resource officer agreement to fruition and make much needed improvements to the city’s animal control department.
“He has had a lot of complex issues that he just jumped in on and was able to handle and he has been incredible with the budget,” Walton said. “The effort that he has put forth with animal control has been amazing.”
Haines brings more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement and a background in law to the position and says he was planning to retire, but was attracted to Eastpointe’s welcoming environment and thought he could make a difference in the community.
“The department heads have been absolutely fantastic and we all hit it off right away,” said Haines. “We immediately started working together to try and make Eastpointe the best it can be.”
In July, Eastpointe had one part-time animal control officer. Haines expanded that position to full-time and added another full-time officer. He is currently working on improving and expanding the kennel area for the animals.
“We are trying to do the best we can with what we have right now until we can expand and take in more pets as needed,” Haines said.
The new chief plans to get his department fully staffed and revive the neighborhood watch program, which has not been active since Rouhib’s departure.
“It kind of fell by the wayside because there was not a lot of information left about it,” Haines said. “But I really want to get that program revamped and up and running because it was very popular.”
Currently, Haines is in the midst of budget planning and intends to upgrade equipment and ensure that any shortfalls in the department are addressed.
Prior to coming to Eastpointe, Haines served in the Madison Heights Police Department for 31 years and retired in June as Deputy City Manager and Chief of Police. Haines, who is also a lawyer, had planned to work in the legal field when he got the call from Walton and after meeting with city management, knew Eastpointe was a good fit.
“We are very, very thankful to have Chief Haines here in Eastpointe,” said Walton.