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