A resident of downtown Detroit recently wrote complaining that she was unable to get an Ambulance, Fire Department, or Police response to assist an elderly person who was bloody from a fall in downtown Detroit. This occurred on a Sunday, near a Hart Plaza festival. Here's my response to her concern.
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The only thing that surprises me is that you seem surprised by our inferior and often non-existent city services. Have you ever called the lighting department to try and get street lights repaired? Have you ever called public works to have streets repaired? Have you ever called your city councilperson? Oh wait, we don't a council person who represents our district! Fortunately, that will hopefully change as of this November with council-by-districts.
In defense of the police officers working Hart Plaza, "abandoning post" is a serious offense for an officer. There are also many cases in which officers are lured away from a post by bogus emergency calls. This is a very conventional terrorist tactic. But, at the least, the officers should have radioed the emergency in.
You said the Fire Department didn't show up. Well, at a community meeting about a year ago I asked an aide to the Fire Department commissioner if it was true that Fire personnel are NOT allowed to respond to ambulance calls. He confirmed that! Why? He told me it was because of union contracts. Archaic work rules that were established when the city was wealthy are a tremendous hindrance to city services today. By the way, when I worked in LA, the Fire Department was often the first vehicle on the scene of a medical emergency. They would render first aid if needed, provide info to the responding ambulance, and often cancel the ambulance if the person was gone. Efficient indeed.
Re the Police Department, there are many good, professional, and hard working officers. I've met a number of them. In fact, I've encouraged some to transfer to the Central District (downtown, midtown). You know what some have told me? I'm paraphrasing, but the response has been, "No, the officers in Central District are too lazy. I don't want to work there." I've even been told by DPD supervisors that (again, paraphrasing), "We can't get the lazy officers' to work." There's a reason that many midtown folks call the Wayne State Police for police assistance, even when the incident is not on campus. Heck, I'd support contracting with the WSU PD to provide ALL police services in our neighborhood.
The same ol' way of doing things in Detroit has failed. In my humble opinion, I'd like to see many more services privatized or consolidated, including the public safety functions. (Maybe RoboCop IS the future!)
Also, as Benson said, I suggest you share your concerns, in writing, with as many people as you can, including the Mayor, City Council, Police Commission, Fire Commission, Police Chief, Fire Commissioner, the Commander of Central District Police, state legislators, even our Congressional representatives, as well as the media. I don't expect any short term fixes, but unless something is put in writing, I guarantee you nothing will be done.
Anyone who's lived in our City for a while knows that many of us recognize that we can't count on the City to provide quality services. I don't know anyone who has moved here, or continues to live here, because of the "excellent city services." That means we have to do things ourselves. I'm confident that we can come up with many creative solutions to our problems. How 'bout first-aid trained "Ambassadors," on bicycles, on foot, on Segways? Maybe to augment the Downtown Clean partnership? Just some thoughts.
Finally, lest someone think I'm just picking on City workers...something's wrong when the U.S. Postal Service publishes a list of post office closures, and I'm disappointed that our post office is NOT on it. It's not just the city.
