  Bratt Member Username: Bratt Post Number: 547 Registered: 01-2004 |
So I have lived in Detroit my entire life (excluding college). Last night was a night where I needed to use city services. My friend was a victim of domestic violence last night. I rushed over to her house and she and her 4 children were sitting in the car waiting for the police to come. I parked behind her to help with the kids. We waited...and waited...and waited. We must have called the police about 4 times, and about 4 neighbors called. When I called the last time, I was told that they had the information, but didn't have any cars available. HUH? I wasn't calling a cab....I was calling the police. We waited for 2 and a half hours in the middle of the night. Well, her crazy husband jumped in his car and started chasing my friend down Gratiot. She went to the police station. We waited there about 2 and a half more hours to make a report. My friend had no shoes on, her baby didn't have any shoes on. So after all of that...the police basically said good luck and sent us on our merry way. HUH? The Detroit Police Department is so understaffed. The only way they were going to do something is after someone got hurt, or killed. Just plain pitiful....I want my tax dollars back! | ||
El_jimbo Member Username: El_jimbo Post Number: 200 Registered: 12-2006 |
That is aweful and I can understand why you are upset. However, I would like to point out a flaw in your logic. Here are the last few sentences of your post: "The Detroit Police Department is so understaffed. The only way they were going to do something is after someone got hurt, or killed. Just plain pitiful....I want my tax dollars back!" Technically speaking if the DPD are already understaffed wouldn't you want them to have more tax dollars? More money = more cops. Wanting your tax dollars back sort of defeats your overall goal of getting more cops on the street so they are actually available to help your friend from her apparently dangerous husband. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9293 Registered: 10-2003 |
I agree that they are understaffed but there is no excuse for this whatsoever. I don't care how understaffed they are she actually showed up to the frickin' precinct. The staffing is already at the desk. Ella Bully Cummings needs to go. The indifference of some officers on her staff is appalling. Law enforcement in damn near every other city believes in being pro-active. File a report on the guy, charge him so there is history when he does something much worse. SO what improvements are we supposed to be seeing under the federal monitor? Prisoners are treated better, holding cells will be better and the police doing less. Kwame - Fire Ella and find someone competent from outside the city of Detroit. Pitiful. Bratt - I hope everything works out well for your friend. Of course given the indifference of some DPD officers and the lax attitude of the courts I am sure her abuser will get more and more chances to get braver and braver. | ||
Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 4519 Registered: 10-2003 |
What I find so ironic is how GP Police has one of the fastest response times in the country. Detroit Police (right next door) doesnt even come. Sad really. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9296 Registered: 10-2003 |
I wonder how residency requirements would help? Just thinking back to an old friend (no longer talk after too many disagreements) that is on DPD and lives outside the city. He has stated that he picks and chooses what crimes are worth responding to and that he only responds to real crime, not Detroit crime. He has also stated that he would only do the bare minimum and do everything he could to avoid any dangerous situations. To think the scumbag happily cashes his check from Bratt's taxes every month. Fire Ella Bully, bring back residency and bring on more officers. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9297 Registered: 10-2003 |
PS - I alos know DPD that bust their asses everyday and should be commended for the job they do. DPD that lives in my neighborhood seem to care a great deal about the neighborhood and the city. | ||
Wash_man Member Username: Wash_man Post Number: 438 Registered: 05-2006 |
I agree Ella should go and have said so several times on this forum. Where is the real fireworks shooter? Where's the killer of the young lady during Super Bowl weekend? This pathetic police chief couldn't even solve this with all of the streets being on camera 24/7. Let's get Steve Wilson on this (if he hasn't already returned home to Florida) | ||
Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 4520 Registered: 10-2003 |
Bring back the residency requirement and half the force will quit. | ||
Goat Member Username: Goat Post Number: 9454 Registered: 10-2003 |
That would be a start Patrick. However, I think the whole force needs to have lessons in how to handle the community and how to be a professional police force. If the cops were paid more maybe the DPD would be able to retain the better officers. I have spoken with a couple of officers from the surrounding area and they stated on separate occasions that the DPD is nothing more than a training ground for the other forces. Pitiful indeed! | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 828 Registered: 01-2005 |
If half the force quits the City will be in big trouble! The hiring pool is very small (anyone will tell you) because there are very few young Detroiters who can test clean of drugs and have no record. As it is, the DPD has not been adverse to hiring felons to fill its ranks with the required minorities. And then we wonder why the DPD has so much trouble within its ranks. Once, about 40 years ago, you couldn't get hired if you had a traffic ticket on your record. Now there's no pride at all. The DPD will make room for just about any Detroiter that applies regardless of record or capability. | ||
3rdworldcity Member Username: 3rdworldcity Post Number: 698 Registered: 01-2005 |
Detroit is truly a third world city. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9301 Registered: 10-2003 |
I wonder why our city does not turn to the feds for more help in the situation. We obviously have a police force that consists of people that are overworked or don;t care. It also seems everyday that there are stories about federal task forces being sent to cities throughout the US to assist their PDs. I never see Detroit on the list. Is that due to Detroit being ignored, too stupid/arrogant to ask for help, need more experienced grant writers to get assistance from these programs? | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 2887 Registered: 02-2005 |
I agree that the residency requirement should be reinstituted. Bratt, did your friend need any medical attention? That seems like an awkward situation, just sitting there, and then driving around. I would think that getting medical attention and then filing a police report would have been the order in which to do things. Sorry to hear about how the police handled (or didn't handle it)...I would want my money back, too. | ||
Club_boss Member Username: Club_boss Post Number: 120 Registered: 12-2006 |
"As it is, the DPD has not been adverse to hiring felons to fill its ranks with the required minorities. And then we wonder why the DPD has so much trouble within its ranks. Once, about 40 years ago, you couldn't get hired if you had a traffic ticket on your record. Now there's no pride at all. The DPD will make room for just about any Detroiter that applies regardless of record or capability." ------------------------------ ------------- You have got to be kidding me, convicted felons? That I have never heard. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 829 Registered: 01-2005 |
Not sure about the convicted part - but they do/have in the past hired people with records/arrests/reputations for criminal activity. Many things are glossed over to get residency and and percentages. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 830 Registered: 01-2005 |
Go here for an article from the Washington Post of more than 10 years ago that amplifies what a focus on residency and minority percentages did to that force. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-srv/local/longterm/library/ dc/dcpolice/94series/trainingd ay1.htm It was exactly that in Detroit - but earlier. Mayor Young was determined that the DPD be majority Black (his winning platform) and the standards were lowered to make that happen. Many young people with gun and drug arrests were able to convince the recruiters that they were now upstanding citizens. We are paying for that hiring binge. | ||
Defendbrooklyn Member Username: Defendbrooklyn Post Number: 195 Registered: 11-2005 |
THe DPD is weak. Ultimately whos fault is it? Kwame? DPD is jv. Bring back the residency requirement!!!Give the officers X amount of time to get into the city. 2-3 years or so. I know it would be tough but you would see an instant improvement in neighborhoods. | ||
Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 4521 Registered: 10-2003 |
A poor city is going to provide poor services. if you want better city services I suggest you move to a suburb. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 831 Registered: 01-2005 |
Don't you get it? The DPD is paid less than any suburban department. Many people apply here as a starter job. But ask yourself if such people would apply here if moving into the city was mandatory? So the pool of applicants gets smaller and the applicants will be, more and more, undesirable as the hiring standards are lowered to get more bodies in. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 836 Registered: 11-2003 |
Bratt, was a crime committed? Was your friend physically struck or threatened? Was a complaint taken at the precinct? Has your friend filed for a Personal Protection Order? I'm not disputing that the DPD handled the situation poorly or unprofessionally. But besides not having a squad car to respond immediately, what exactly was not done that should have been done? I know that this might be a threadjack, but with regard to DPD staffing issues, the department's low salaries have contributed to the problem for a long time. I read an article in the NYTimes a while back that addressed police salaries in that region. It was kind of amazing to find out that many experienced police officers in the Nassau and Suffolk county departments (each roughly the size of the Detroit force) make in excess of $100K per year. One would hope that the response times and professionalism are commensurate with the pay. The article is already archived, this is from the NYT article abstract: quote: To read this archive article, upgrade to TimesSelect or purchase as a single article. By the way, Nassau and Suffolk counties are high cost/high tax locales with strong economies and many desireable quality of life amenities. | ||
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa Post Number: 1529 Registered: 11-2003 |
Next time (and hopefully there won't be a next time) I would suggest taking your friend directly to the domestic violence unit on Cass. | ||
Bussey Member Username: Bussey Post Number: 525 Registered: 12-2003 |
Living in Woodbridge has its advantages. Every time I need police assistance I call 313-577-2222, WSU Police come out in less than 5 min. Thanks Irvin Reed! They even come out for Disturbing the Peace! (when the neighbors metal band feels the need to practice @ 11:30pm on a Tuesday night.) | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 633 Registered: 01-2006 |
Is there a big penalty for calling in a murder if its only a smaller crime? I would think the police would respond in a timely manner. Once they are there you can go along with the actual issue at hand. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 832 Registered: 01-2005 |
You don't think you're the first to think that up? That's a common ploy that makes the 911 operators into cynics and slows response to the real stuff. | ||
Ramcharger Member Username: Ramcharger Post Number: 291 Registered: 05-2006 |
Reinstituting the residency requirement would solve a problem, but not the one it was intended to solve. The DPD would still be worthless because the majority of the officers have no respect for people that live in Detroit, regardless of their race. Almost every time I speak with an officer of the DPD, they question why I still live in Detroit (as does every relative and friend of mine). Frankly, I am at a loss as to how this attitude could be turned around. The problem it would solve, however, is that it would create a market for the vast number of vacant and abandon properties throughout Detroit. Most officers would do what was done when the residency rule was in effect. They would buy a cheap Detroit property and use it as their address of record while they continue to live in their suburban home. Often times several officers would use the same address. This doesn’t make the police care anymore about the neighborhoods, but at least they have to provide minimal maintenance for their property and give some, albeit false, impression that it is occupied. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9303 Registered: 10-2003 |
It would add officers in the neighborhoods as well. A little buy in. AS an example: 1. Ex-Friend referenced above has stated that he will not do anything to put himself in jeopardy unless absolutely necessary. 2. DPD that lives in my neighborhood has stated to call them anytime something looks suspicious if they are at work or at home. Huge, huge difference in attitude anc concern for community. | ||
Detroitoriginal Member Username: Detroitoriginal Post Number: 4 Registered: 12-2004 |
If you write the Mayor's office and the Chief I would almost guarantee some momentum to fix this. Worst case, there is always the Media, but that can be dangerous. I wish that all of us were more active and would march to demand city services, but until we all care about each other in unity, change will not happen. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 1497 Registered: 01-2004 |
"Reinstituting the residency requirement" I was told by my city that this was struck down by the State Supreme Court. Good luck reinstating that. What about Wayne County Sheriff ? | ||
Bratt Member Username: Bratt Post Number: 548 Registered: 01-2004 |
He did strike her daughter and threw her up against a window and bammed her head into it. Then he went after the mother and started pushing her. She knew what was coming next and that's when she grabbed her kids and ran out of the house. Yes, the police took a report. I am just afraid of what may happen next. She goes and gets a PPO, but he is nowhere to be found, so he can come back to the house. If the police are called, will they have the staffing to even come? Will it be too late? | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 905 Registered: 04-2006 |
Well, unfortunately, the residency rule is against the law now... | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 833 Registered: 01-2005 |
I know of no police officer that would encourage you to come running to him/her about neighborhood problems. As a matter of fact, I believe that they are told to stay out of such if not assigned to that precinct. I dated a Detroit cop for a long time. He lived on my street in SWD and he regularly turned away a neighbor who complained in the middle of the night that her husband was assaulting her. He said she should call 911 - not his jurisdiction, what should he be expected to do? Don't you agree? Unless murder or fire is occcuring, what would a cop do from his home? How much danger should an off-duty cop be required to take on? If he had a family in the home, do you expect him to take on some drunken, murderous guy just because? | ||
Benjo Member Username: Benjo Post Number: 17 Registered: 02-2007 |
I have found that DPD has the staffing power to write me Bull$#!+ tickets while I'm delivering pizza and dodging bullets so they can fill the city's coffers, but most (not all, I've met a few good ones) don't care about anything more than collecting a paycheck. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9307 Registered: 10-2003 |
Southwest - I agree that I wouldn't expect officers to be obligated to do anything off shift but the ones I know have stated to contact them whenever. I wouldn't make the assumption to bother them unless told that I am welcome to do so. Maybe they work in the precinct we live in. The point is that they certainly have more interest in the neighborhood and will probably be more prone (from what I have seen) to stop crimes that other DPD officers may be seen as nuisance type stuff that they will ignore. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 906 Registered: 04-2006 |
"He lived on my street in SWD and he regularly turned away a neighbor who complained in the middle of the night that her husband was assaulting her. He said she should call 911 - not his jurisdiction, what should he be expected to do?" All Detroit Police are deputized by the State of Michigan and have legal authority to act as law enforcement in the absence of local law enforcement presence no matter where they are in the state. It's actually his job, whether on duty or off, to step in if she was reasonably under threat. Now, what he can't do is go over and stick his nose in the middle of their domestic spat because she wants someone to smack her husband around. What he can do is intervene if he saw her husband beating her. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 834 Registered: 01-2005 |
Obviously some people think policing is a vocation when its really just an occupation - a dangerous one at that, one that wears its personnel down with relentless exposure to the ugliest and most degrading aspects of society. I wonder how long you would "care" when you pick up raped infants and old ladies and kids having oral sex in school and beaten wives and drunken VIPs who are picking up prostitutes, etc. You'd lose your innocence pretty quick. Yet, that's par for the course in the city. I can't write the worse thing I've witnessed - and I'm just a resident. I didn't call the police when I saw it - but I bet someone did. Writing tickets would be quite a relief for you, too, I'd guess. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 835 Registered: 01-2005 |
Iheartthed - please check your statement with real police. They are not supposed to act unless a huge emergency, if not on duty. This is in response to Jt1's naive statement advocating residency: "DPD that lives in my neighborhood has stated to call them anytime something looks suspicious if they are at work or at home." | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9309 Registered: 10-2003 |
Southwest - How is my statement naive. I am not advocating that all officers are on duty 24 hours. I am stating what they have told me. I also followed up that I would not assume to call an officer in my neighborhood outside of work if they did not tell me that I was welcome to. Relaying my experiences and conversations is not making naive statements. Southwest - How many non Detroit DPD officers have you spoken with that have utter contempt for the city and the residents of the city? So please elaboarate for me. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 907 Registered: 04-2006 |
"Iheartthed - please check your statement with real police. They are not supposed to act unless a huge emergency, if not on duty." I did. I'm telling you that if she was reasonably believed to be in danger and he ignored it then he would be in breech of his duties. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 836 Registered: 01-2005 |
I tried to explain to you that almost all police have contempt after a time - they don't want their kids exposed to the ugliness. They can't understand why we put up with it. Is that so hard to see. But I really don't care about "contempt." And you shouldn't worry about it either. I bet that a lot of the officers and fire fighters who died on 9/11 felt the same contempt for NYC - after all, virtually none of them were residents. But they gave their lives. Look at the cops who have died in Detroit over the last few years - were any of them residents? They died doing a job, just a job. Police, whether they live in Detroit or not face that every day. | ||
Ramcharger Member Username: Ramcharger Post Number: 292 Registered: 05-2006 |
quote: The Detroit residency requirement was abolished in 1999 by an act of the Republican controlled legislature at the urging of Republican Governor John Engler (THE RESIDENCY REBELLION By Alan Ehrenhalt) It could be resurrected just as easily. Numerous rulings by several state Attorneys General have upheld the constitutionality of municipal residency requirements. | ||
Bratt Member Username: Bratt Post Number: 549 Registered: 01-2004 |
So as I see it....if I paid on average of $2,000 a year in City Taxes a year for 25 years (okay telling my age), I am owed a refund of $50,000. Yeah baby (ha-ha-ha) What's even more interesting is the officer that took the report. When we said the police didn't show up, her response was I am not suprised. She advised my friend to get a CCW and a gun. On our way out, my girlfriend wanted an escort to go to the house to get her and the kids some clothes, but that didn't happen. So when we got up, I said very loudly, I know where we can get an AK47...the police officers response was....I will pretend I didn't hear that..and do what you have to do. HUH???????? Somebody help me here. Damn is all I can say. | ||
Ffdfd Member Username: Ffdfd Post Number: 86 Registered: 09-2006 |
Bratt, I really feel for your friend. Things are bad now in public safety and the reality is they're only going to get worse. You deserve a refund. Southwestmap, every single one of your posts in the thread is completely spot on. The idea that residency is going to improve the police force is hogwash. Jt1, you have some anecdotal evidence, but that is because your neighbors are good people and good workers and your ex-friend is not. People with a good work ethic will do a good job regardless of where they live. My position is eliminating residency has helped DPD from sinking even further than it has. As someone mentioned, DPD is a training ground for other departments. Living where they want is keeping some of the good workers from leaving for the suburbs or out of state. This is not just theory, like something a know-it-all UM student who has never lived in the city might posit. I see it every day. The fire department eliminated residency around five years ago. A lot of guys have moved out. You know what? The good workers still show up to work early, do way more work than is required and treat citizens with compassion and respect. The lazy slugs are still lazy slugs. And believe it or not, some of those substandard workers never left the city. Incredible, but they didn't give a care about anyone but themselves before the residency change and they still don't give a care about anyone but themselves. Of course, many of the workers who go above and beyond have stayed in the city, and I'm guessing one or two lives near Jt1. I see the same patterns in the DPD I know and deal with. So Jt1, I understand that your theory on residency makes sense on paper, but it just hasn't played out that way in the real world. | ||
Track75 Member Username: Track75 Post Number: 2540 Registered: 10-2003 |
Bratt, there's an organization in Pontiac called HAVEN that helps victims of domestic violence. They have a 24-hour crisis and support line at (877) 922-1274. They offer counseling, help with PPOs, and a "secret" residential shelter where your friend and her children could stay free for a month while they receive help. They're a great organization that helps many women and children in need, at no charge. It sounds like your friend needs more help than she's getting. http://www.haven-oakland.org/i ndex.html | ||
Bratt Member Username: Bratt Post Number: 552 Registered: 01-2004 |
Thanks Track... | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9321 Registered: 10-2003 |
I can't recall the name but there is a place (I want to say on Mack) in Detroit that is a shelter for women and children that are victims of domestic abuse. While I am gussing your friend doesn't need shelter I think they offer other services. If I recall the name I will post it. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 911 Registered: 04-2006 |
Are state workers required to live in the state of Michigan? | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 912 Registered: 04-2006 |
This is interesting: http://www.cleveland.com/news/ plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cu yahoga/1172309555111490.xml&co ll=2#continue Seems like Ohio is running ass-backwards just as well. | ||
Ray Member Username: Ray Post Number: 908 Registered: 06-2004 |
Here's the tragedy: If Detroit had a properly trained, qualified, peforming police department, crime would plummet and jobs, retail and opportunity in the city would soar. This city's misfortunes are the product of the policies of its leadership class, who are happy to sacrifice generation after generation of fellow Black Detroiters to maintain their power and their ideology. I would liquidate the police department and rehire an entirely fresh force with much higher salaries and without any regard to minority status. | ||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 1405 Registered: 12-2005 |
Ray--after the quagmire in Iraq is over I propose we have the Marines police all of the dysfunctional cities for one generation. Break the chain of young people who grow up admiring those outside the law. Near the end of the 20 years hire a fresh force. Send the Marines. Red Skelton: "how come the police can't find a drug pusher but an 11 year old boy can?" (Message edited by 56packman on June 07, 2007) |
