Citizens Fed Up With Crime

The following was sent in response to an article highlighting citizens being fed up with crime.  Here's a link to the article:  http://detnews.com/article/20101026/METRO/10260322/Fed-up-with-crime--Detroiters-fight-back

Letter to the editor, Detroit News, sent on October 26, 2010

Dear editor:

The typical Detroit Police Department three-part response to crime is this: (1) Blame the victims;  (2) Complain about how busy they are, citing the number of 911 calls; and (3) Whine about how short of officers the Department is.  Here's what the Department should do: Blame the criminals, seek them out, and arrest them. Screen 911 calls and only dispatch officers when an on-scene response is actually needed - not "24 minutes" from the time of the call, but now. Finally, better deploy your officers. Detroit has more officers per capita than many cities, including Los Angeles. Use uniformed civilians to tow vehicles, direct traffic at sporting events, and lift fingerprints.

Chief Godbee discourages citizens from making arrests. The difference between the TV Detroit Police Officers on "Detroit 187" and real officers is that the "Detroit 187" officers actually seek out criminals to arrest them.  In spite of many dedicated, hard-working, and innovative officers, I have no confidence in the willingness and ability of the Detroit Police Department to have an impact on crime. It's time to consider merging the DPD with the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. An elected sheriff in charge of law enforcement would bring accountability to policing.

Thomas E. Page

Retired, Los Angeles Police Department

I e-mailed the following letter to the Detroit News on September 27, 2010. The letter is in response to a Nolan Finley opinion article that appeared in the September 26th paper. Finley's article follows my letter.

Hallelujah! I think Nolan Finley and others are finally getting it. The last things many of us want for our City is a big box store or a chain grocery store surrounded by acres of asphalt or cement. We also don't want a blinged-out SUV or gaudy pick-up truck parked in a driveway on some life-sucking suburban cul de sac. Our porches, actual as well as metaphorical, are in the front rather than tucked in the back of a tri-level ranch. We welcome, and in fact seek out, the strange, the different, the colorful, and even the weird. Yes, Detroit is changing rapidly, mostly for the good. We don't know what the future Detroit will look like, but I guarantee you it's an absolute blast getting there.


And by the way, the "creative class" isn't always young. I moved back to Detroit a few years ago after retiring from the Los Angeles Police Department. I wouldn't live anywhere other than the "Fun Side of 8 Mile." (My winning slogan from a 2009 Detroit News contest).


Thomas E. Page

Finley's article:

A new vision for Detroit

Ididn’t expect much from a documentary hosted by “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville and produced by a company that sells work boots to people who don’t need boots for work.

The 32 minute “Detroit Lives” film from Palladium Boots is hardly a sophisticated examination of the seeds of Detroit’s rebirth. Mostly, it’s just Knoxville driving around in an old convertible chatting with some of the city’s creative underground — the young artists and entrepreneurs who are homesteading an urban wilderness.

But the conversations jarred me into rethinking some assumptions about what form a new and improved Detroit ought to take.

I’m part of a generation that sees Detroit’s future in reclaiming as much of its past as possible. Our version of renewal comes in billion-dollar packages funded by big sugar daddies. So I rolled my eyes at first when a young artist told Knoxville, “Detroit doesn’t need a savior. Detroit doesn’t need a big box store.”

That’s the difference in mindset between the corporate class and the creative class.

It’s also revealed by Phil Cooley, owner of Slows Bar BQ, as he guides Knoxville through the wreckage of the old Michigan Central train depot. I look at that mess and say with disgust, “Only in Detroit.” Cooley says the exact same thing, but with “Wow!” in his voice.

These kids see the city as a found object, beautiful in its natural form. They, too, have dreams of a more vibrant Detroit. But they’d rather have the ruins than another empty field.

Where the smug urban pioneers of my generation settled in the best neighborhoods, this new breed thrives on Detroit’s gritty side.

They’re scraping and painting old houses and moving in.

They’re tearing boards off empty storefronts and opening micro businesses. They’re mowing parks, planting gardens and painting murals without asking permission or waiting for master plans.

They have none of their parents’ fear of the city, venturing well wide of downtown.

They’ve discovered Detroit is just the place for those with more ideas than money.

Their faces are often covered with beards and tattoos, but they get the same resistance as the suits do because those faces are mostly white. They break through by embracing Detroit for what it is, and staying in it day and night.

I’m still not sure they’re the answer for renewing Detroit.

But as downtown businessman Larry Mongo says in the documentary, “They’re filling some

of the gaps.” Whatever plan emerges from Mayor Dave Bing’s landuse hearings shouldn’t choke off their energy and enthusiasm with red tape. What we’ve done for 40 years hasn’t worked; we may as well give them their shot.

Nolan Finley is editorial page editor of The Detroit News. The News is sponsoring the local premiere of “Detroit Lives” at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Burton Theater, 3420 Cass. To reserve a seat, e-mail RSVP@notedcomm.com with “Detroit News” in the subject line, specifying which screening you want to attend.

Video: 'Detroit was the fastest-growing city in the world. It's also the fastest to disappear' | World news | guardian.co.uk

Video: 'Detroit was the fastest-growing city in the world. It's also the fastest to disappear' | World news | guardian.co.uk

Letter to editor, Detroit News, May 22, 2010
I submitted the following letter to the editor in response to an article that promoted the legalization of marijuana in the City of Detroit.

Here's the letter as published in the Detroit News on Saturday, May 22, 2010:

No pot law in Detroit
The last thing Detroit needs is more stoned people. And thanks to Tim Beck and the proponents of the legalization of marijuana, that's what we'll get should their latest initiative pass ("Initiative would allow pot in Detroit," May 7). Marijuana impairs attention, alters depth and time perception, and causes a decrease in motivation. The impairing effects of marijuana can last 24 hours and more, even though the person doesn't feel the effects. Do you want your doctor, dentist, teacher, police officer or bank clerk high on marijuana?
Thomas E. Page, (retired) Los Angeles Police Department,
Detroit

Good Traffic Enforcement and Crime Reduction
Letter to the Detroit News
Sent on March 3, 2010

I commend and support Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans for recognizing that aggressive traffic enforcement, including equipment violations, is a proven approach to combat crime.

For example, the Manual of Police Traffic Services of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, of which I am a life member, clearly supports the Chief's use of proactive traffic enforcement to detect criminals and contraband, including illegal weapons. The manual, in part, says:
"Today, police departments have become increasingly aware that alert and proactive traffic law enforcement is also an excellent tool to detect and apprehend those who have committed criminal acts, as well as to deter crimes before they happen, by “looking beyond the license plate” in every traffic stop."

Criminals usually drive to and from crime locations. They carry weapons, contraband, and often the evidence of their criminal acts. There's a reason the media reports on "drive-by shootings" but rarely "walk-by shootings."

I find Ron Scott's (the director of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality) supposed concern about officer quotas for traffic stops laughable. The Chief has the right and responsibility to require his officers to be productive, to account for their time, and to administer discipline if they aren't productive. Even more laughable, Scott says that the Chief's approach may lead "...to racial profiling of young African-American men who happen to be driving in a high crime area..." Take a look at the demographics of the perpetrators of crime in Detroit, Mr. Scott. It's not the gray-haired church ladies who are committing armed robberies behind the liquor store.

Thomas E. Page
Brush Park, Detroit
Retired, Los Angeles Police Department

Michigan State Fair Suggestion
March 3, 2010
Letter to the Editor, Detroit Free Press


Make it a Great Fair Again

I support leasing the former Michigan State Fairgrounds to the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority. Although Michigan’s state fair was the oldest state fair, for many years it was a second-rate fair. For example, the Michigan State Fair paled in comparison in size, displays and excitement to the Los Angeles County Fair and the South Florida Fair.

Perhaps the Huron-Clinton Authority could partner with the Henry Ford Museum to create an industrial and agricultural exposition on the fairgrounds that could develop into a year-round attraction. Either privatize the fair, lease it to the Huron-Clinton Authority, or keep it shut down.
Thomas E. Page
Detroit