Dear Editor:
On September 20 and 21, 2012, Wayne State University hosted a comprehensive conference on Detroit's crime crisis. Many proven and simple-to-implement ideas to combat crime were presented by eminent scholars and law enforcement practitioners, including George Kelling of "Broken Windows" fame, WSU Police Chief Tony Holt, and former LAPD Chief Bill Bratton.
The response of Detroit Police Department Chief Godbee to these creative ideas was the same old song and dance. Chief Godbee complained about lack of resources, even though Bill Bratton pointed out that even with the cuts, Detroit has more officers per capita than other cities. Chief Godbee repeatedly asked the community to "trust" the Department, without giving us reason to trust it. Chief Godbee also blamed the media for fostering a "perception" of crime. Clearly, Chief Godbee doesn't understand that the best way to change the "perception" of crime is to change the reality of it. In short, Chief Godbee acknowledged that the Detroit Police Department is incapable of reducing our City's persistently embarrassingly high crime rate.
Albert Einstein is credited with saying that "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." As long as the Detroit Police Department continues its reactive, 911-call centric style of policing, we shouldn't expect different results.
Thomas E. Page
Former Detroit Police Officer
Retired, Los Angeles Police Department
Life member, International Association of Chiefs of Police
