Detroit Police Crime Lab scandal and Crime Rate
Today's Detroit Free Press reported that the Detroit Police Department's former crime lab was left unsecured with evidence and files open to the elements. This spurred the following letter. E-mail to the Detroit Free Press on May 27, 2011.
Dear Editor:
How about a little outrage over the latest FBI crime statistics? Our City once again leads the nation in crime. And it's not even close. Our murder rate, for example, is 500% greater than the rate in Los Angeles. It's time to seriously challenge the willingness and capability of the Detroit Police Department to fulfill its stated mission of protecting and serving our City. The latest example of incompetence comes from the disgraceful and probably criminal failure to secure the former crime laboratory on Brush St. Which, by the way, was closed because of incompetence in ballistics testing.
The parallels between the failures of the Detroit Public Schools to educate and the Detroit Police Department to fight crime are striking indeed. Although both agencies have many well-meaning professional employees, the end results are similar: Detroit Public School students have the lowest test scores in the nation; Detroit has the highest crime rate.
A response to the failures of the Detroit Public Schools has been the creation of charter schools, that are run independently of the school system. Schools that do not show progress in meeting academic goals are being closed. Perhaps this same model of accountability and innovation can be applied to policing in Detroit. One innovation could be the merger of the Detroit Police Department with the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. It has been done in other cities, such as Miami and Indianapolis. Why not here? The fact that the Sheriff is elected brings instant accountability to policing. Another innovation would be the contracting of police services with the Wayne State University Police Department.
Finally, if the Mayor is serious about revitalizing our City, he should recruit a Police Chief that has a proven record of driving down crime rates. William Bratton, the former LAPD and NYPD chief comes to mind.
Thomas E. Page
Retired, Los Angeles Police Department
Friday, May 27, 2011
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Detroit Police Chief Godbee discounts importance of arrests.
I e-mailed this letter to the Detroit Free Press on May 8, 2011.
Dear editor:
I am a 25 year veteran of the Detroit and Los Angeles Police Departments. I am also a life-member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. I really hoped for better when Chief Godbee took office. The Chief seems to have resurrected the old and largely discredited attitude that arrrests are signs of failure of our society. And that police can have only a limited impact on crime.
Jeff Gerritt's editorial opinion praises the Chief for not focusing on the number of arrests as a measure of the Department's efficiency. Chief Godbee also refers to the FBI's release of crime statistics as a "shell game." I suspect that the Chief knows that the best statistic, and least likely to be fudged, is the number of homicides. Given that, how does the Chief explain, or rationalize, the fact that Los Angeles with five times the number of people has about the same number of homicides as Detroit? You read that correctly: Detroit has a homicide rate 500% more than Detroit. The Chief should release arrest and citation statistics so that we Detroiters can judge whether we have an efficient Police Department.
Elected officials and law enforcement officers in places like Los Angeles and New York City know that aggressive policing, including arrests for so-called minor crimes, can dramatically cut the crime rate. That's the Broken Windows theory of policing. Take care of quality of life crimes, such as vandalism and graffiti, and the rate of serious crimes plummets.
Finally, a Federal Consent Decree compliance rate of 65% after seven years is nothing to be proud of. Rather, it's a disgrace on three levels: cost, length of time, and the fact that the Consent Decree will do nothing about our intolerably high crime rate.
The Chief has lost sight of the fact that his profession is Law Enforcement. For many, the fear and likelihood of arrest prevent criminal behavior. And if the Chief doesn't believe that, then he's in the wrong business.
Thomas E. Page
Law Enforcement Consultant
Los Angeles Police Department, retired
I e-mailed this letter to the Detroit Free Press on May 8, 2011.
Dear editor:
I am a 25 year veteran of the Detroit and Los Angeles Police Departments. I am also a life-member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. I really hoped for better when Chief Godbee took office. The Chief seems to have resurrected the old and largely discredited attitude that arrrests are signs of failure of our society. And that police can have only a limited impact on crime.
Jeff Gerritt's editorial opinion praises the Chief for not focusing on the number of arrests as a measure of the Department's efficiency. Chief Godbee also refers to the FBI's release of crime statistics as a "shell game." I suspect that the Chief knows that the best statistic, and least likely to be fudged, is the number of homicides. Given that, how does the Chief explain, or rationalize, the fact that Los Angeles with five times the number of people has about the same number of homicides as Detroit? You read that correctly: Detroit has a homicide rate 500% more than Detroit. The Chief should release arrest and citation statistics so that we Detroiters can judge whether we have an efficient Police Department.
Elected officials and law enforcement officers in places like Los Angeles and New York City know that aggressive policing, including arrests for so-called minor crimes, can dramatically cut the crime rate. That's the Broken Windows theory of policing. Take care of quality of life crimes, such as vandalism and graffiti, and the rate of serious crimes plummets.
Finally, a Federal Consent Decree compliance rate of 65% after seven years is nothing to be proud of. Rather, it's a disgrace on three levels: cost, length of time, and the fact that the Consent Decree will do nothing about our intolerably high crime rate.
The Chief has lost sight of the fact that his profession is Law Enforcement. For many, the fear and likelihood of arrest prevent criminal behavior. And if the Chief doesn't believe that, then he's in the wrong business.
Thomas E. Page
Law Enforcement Consultant
Los Angeles Police Department, retired
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