Letter to Detroit News on ineffective Detroit Police Department

Re: "Police cuts loom as Detroit struggles to curb violence" series, June 8, 2012. Dear editor: When an entity, whether it's a company, a school district, a non-profit organization, or even a police department, repeatedly doesn't provide the product or service it is supposed to provide, that entity has outlived its usefulness and should be disbanded. The Detroit Police Department, in spite of many professional, motivated, and ethical officers, neither protects nor serves our City's residents or visitors. By nearly every metric, the Detroit Police Department has shown itself to be ineffective, and yes, incompetent. The Police Chief Magazine recently identified questions by which a police agency could judge the quality of its service. (David J. Roberts, "Performance Management for Policing," Technology Talk, The Police Chief 79 (May2012): 60–61) The questions included: Is crime going up? Do citizens feel safe in their communities? Are citizens satisfied with results when they call for service? Does the agency respond quickly in emergency situations? Does the agency rank favorably in the volume of crime reported, the proportion of cases solved, and the number of arrests made? Taking the City as a whole, the answers to these questions are obvious. If a letter grade were given, I'd give the Detroit Police Department an F, for failure. On the other hand, I'd give the Wayne State Police Department and its Chief Tony Holt, an A. To a large degree, the lack of crime in Midtown, where I live, is a result of effective policing by the Wayne State Police Department. I am a twenty-five year veteran of law enforcement (Detroit and Los Angeles Police Departments). I have seen first hand how good policing matters, and can make a huge difference in a short period of time. A contemporary example of how effective policing can quickly and dramatically impact the homicide rate comes from our nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. experienced a 42% drop in homicides in 3 years, going from 186 in 2008 to 108 in 2011. And that wasn't accomplished by a huge increase in the number of officers on the so-called street. Unfortunately, based on its past history, I have no confidence that the Detroit Police Department is willing or even capable of having a significant impact on crime. Authorities should consider a merger of the DPD with the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. Perhaps an elected, and thereby accountable, Sheriff can make the difference. Policing on all state roads within the City, such as Woodward, Gratiot and Michigan Avenue could be turned over to the State Police. County Roads could be patrolled by the Sheriff's Department. And parks could be patrolled by the State's Department of Natural Resources. It's beyond time for some innovative aggressive action. We citizens deserve better policing, and a better Police Department. Thomas E. Page Law Enforcement Consultant Los Angeles Police Department, retired