Murder in Detroit.....
It started for me, in 1974, when the Detroit Police Department, failed to hire me - despite passing all the tests and meeting the requirements, because I lived in Dearborn Heights. I was hired finally, in September of 1977, discrimination that faced me and before me - black officers, and women under past Mayors.
It started (for me - again) in Detroit in 1980, with the layoff of 1,100 police officers, by Mayor Coleman A. Young, after the DPOA won (?) an Act 312 victory. Young was going to show the DPOA 'who was the boss' - so he cast off 1,100 police officers for five (5) years, ruining their lives and putting Detroit residents in the cross hairs of death. Detroit became the national 'Murder City'.
And the criminals saw the smoke signal, saw the star in the north and started to use
Detroiters, as their criminal piggy bank, if they needed money - take it, there weren't enough police officers to stop them. Guns and death ruled the streets, and Young still persisted in showing that ' I am the Boss ' - blaming the DPOA (the home of the 'white army of occupation' and greedy cops). Detroit did not recall the officers until 1985.
Coleman Young hated police officers black or white - he called black officers 'psychopaths' who would do violence to their own people. He called white officers 'and army of occupation' - thus poisoning public perception of hard working police officers, working in a 'war zone' - in one of America's most dangerous cities. Young fueled the disrespect and lack of community support for police officers.
The Detroit Police Department is now down to less than 700,000 residents and there is only; 2,103 police officers (94 below budgeted), 73 investigators, 454 sergeants (29 below budgeted), 102 lieutenants. The City Council is still holding court with nine (9) council persons, and their bloated staffs - Detroit needs more police officers and less council persons ! DPD is losing more than 30 officers a month through retirements.
Mayor Bing has agreed to an early retirement plan for Detroit police officers, which will damage and destroy needed experience and trained officers facing a rising murder and crime rate. Residents don't believe PC Godbee (64% of Detroiters don't - unscientific poll) when he talks about Detroit crime rates declining. The agreements with the DPOA / LSA and DPDCOA will do nothing to retain officers or motivate them to do more, in this dangerous City. It is a counter productive agreement - that does more harm than good.
Detroit needs a Mayor to hire the best and brightest Police Chief in the nation - and a PC who will stop the 'virtual precinct' program, stop the transfer of investigators (detectives) to a central location, get rid of a bad report system - Crisnet, get needed jail space and to reduce the waste of millions of dollars in prisoner medical costs - and more....
Detroit faces a budget crisis - a specter of an Emergency Financial Manager - but Detroit residents face worse - murder in their neighborhoods and homes, crime in the streets and a dysfunctional City government.
Detroit needs help - who is going to answer the call????
David L. Malhalab
Sergeant DPD Retired
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