Time for Federal Troops

**downtown_racine** · December-24-10, 11:04 AM

Sounds like 30,000 ethnic cleansings would be a good start.

What a sad thing.

**SWMAP** · December-24-10, 01:33 PM

Not sure how living in the City makes police officers "give a damn more."
The firemen who charged up the stairs at the WTC a decade ago did not live in Manhattan. They were from Rockaway and other commutes. Most people do their jobs regardless of where they live.

**hhockey** · December-24-10, 04:19 PM

Back in the early 70's we had plenty of police officers. We never have had enough police to have 5 beat cops per square mile since Mayor Young laid off so many officers. On the afternoon shift we where lucky to have 5 patrol cars for a 14 square mile area.And during that time each unit would probably handle as many as 23 calls per eight hour shift. Detroit needs more officers period. A Detroit officer can't possibly worry about looking for crime when they are handling 20 to 30 calls per shift per unit. And that is no bull!

**hhockey** · December-24-10, 04:22 PM

Amen SWMAP. A good cop will do his job correctly no matter where he lives. They risk a bullett every day no matter where they live.

**lpg** · December-24-10, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by skyl4rk

The State of Michigan does not have the money to keep all of the criminals in jail.

Detroit could be made much safer by expanding the police force and cracking down on violent crime, but it would be expensive. Should Detroiters pay for it? It is clear that the City cannot. Because this cancer of crime affects the region, all of Southeast Michigan should be paying for police protection in Detroit, including incarceration.

Once the police protection is in place, then start to work on the root causes for crime: create jobs, encourage two parent families, support education. These strategies take time and may not work when thugs control the streets.

There may be other ways to work against drugs and thug life mentality. There is no silver bullet but until police protection is improved, the other attempts will fail.

The State is the only government entity that has enough power to solve this problem, there needs to be a regional tax on the entire Detroit Metro Area to support police protection in Detroit.

Since all of S.E. Michigan areas cannot afford to keep their own police and fire departments fully staffed and funded, how is a tax dedicated just to Detroit going to help them ? Cut services further to everyone who does not live in Detroit ?

**jtf1972** · December-24-10, 05:19 PM

It's always a reassuring feeling to know that many police officers wouldn't step foot into the city if it wasn't for a paycheck. Politicians too.

**detroitcorky** · December-24-10, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by jtf1972

It's always a reassuring feeling to know that many police officers wouldn't step foot into the city if it wasn't for a paycheck. Politicians too.

you got that right jtl1972

**SWMAP** · December-24-10, 05:39 PM

So what? Why should police officers have to demonstrate some sort of additional love or fealty for Detroit in addition to putting their lives on the line every day, as the poster above eloquently reminds us.

muskie1 · December-24-10, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by jtf1972

It's always a reassuring feeling to know that many police officers wouldn't step foot into the city if it wasn't for a paycheck. Politicians too.

I saw a story years ago on , I think ,60 minutes. One city,I believe it was Baltimore, had a program to attract officers into troubled areas of the city. They would get a home for either free or a very low price along with funds to do any rehab needed. When the story aired back then they said it was a huge success and crime rates saw a large decrease in these areas.

**Ray1936** · December-24-10, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by muskie1

I saw a story years ago on , I think ,60 minutes. One city,I believe it was Baltimore, had a program to attract officers into troubled areas of the city. They would get a home for either free or a very low price along with funds to do any rehab needed. When the story aired back then they said it was a huge success and crime rates saw a large decrease in these areas.

That can be a good deal all around.....until you have children. Once they get to school age, you want the best schools you can get for them. There's nothing selfish about that. And that is exactly why Detroit police officers fought for -- and won -- residency nearly thirty years ago.

Loyalty to your family supercedes loyalty to a body politic.

muskie1 · December-24-10, 06:08 PM

You are right Ray, in fact I think the program was aimed at single officers. I guess the lack of all basic emergency and city services does not make it very attractive to anybody.

**jtf1972** · December-24-10, 08:00 PM

What is the suburban police attitude toward living in the city you work? I'm guessing that if you were to apply to Troy PD & told them there wasn't a chance in hell that you would ever want to actually live in Troy that they would [[rightfully) hire someone else.

I know it's an issue that people never change their mind on, but I feel that if you want to live in the suburbs and want to be a cop, then you should be a suburban cop.

**SWMAP** · December-24-10, 11:20 PM

Residency requirements are not allowed in any community in Michigan, so the question of whether a candidate would or would not live in a city like Troy would not come up. And , by the way, you are concluding that lack of residency indicates some disdain or contempt for a city. How do make such a jump?

**skyl4rk** · December-25-10, 06:58 AM

Originally Posted by lpg

Since all of S.E. Michigan areas cannot afford to keep their own police and fire departments fully staffed and funded, how is a tax dedicated just to Detroit going to help them ? Cut services further to everyone who does not live in Detroit ?

SE MI is one urban area. Oakland, Wayne and Macomb Counties should be combined into a single government entity providing local government services such as police, fire, water, wastewater, streets and parks.

I suggest that the name of this new unigov megacity should be:

Bloomfield Township.

**Brother James** · December-25-10, 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by eastjohn

The city of Detroit has been lying about the crime rate. The number of arsons is more than double what the city officially reported.

If this information is being buried, how do you happen to know it?

**night-timer** · December-25-10, 10:08 PM

Lease your land and empty buildings enmasse to the Chinese on a 25-year [[strictly non renewable) deal. They will bring in loads of twelve-to-a-bedroom factory workers at ultra-cheap wages, which be very productive for the factories. They will love living in the USA and will not complain. Nor do they expect a productivity bonus to motivate them. As long a they pay their taxes. Give it time.

**night-timer** · December-25-10, 10:11 PM

... but seriously, folks, it is a troubled time, Detroityes post-ers are generally well informed. With so many solutions being proposed, the people of Detroit at all levels should theoretically be able to turn the situation around.

**English** · December-25-10, 10:22 PM

The people who run the city and make all the decisions aren't on DYes.

**erikd** · December-26-10, 04:34 AM

Back to the original topic...

I am a Detroit resident, and I think that the national guard and federal military resources should be deployed when the city/county/state is unable or unwilling to provide basic police protection and services. I recently had this exact discussion with a DPD officer, where I expressed my outrage that the DPD is unable or unwilling to respond to 911 calls. I was informed that the DPD simply doesn't have the manpower and resources to respond to all of the 911 calls in the city. When I suggested that the 911 calls that couldn't be responded to by the DPD be routed to county sheriffs and/or state police, I was informed that the state and county had also made cuts in police staffing, and were simply not able to help the city out on day to day policing.

This situation is simply unacceptable. If the city, county, and state are in such dire straits that emergency calls can not be responded to, we need emergency federal help. Why can't we have the national guard and/or federal military troops respond to 911 calls, or walk a city beat? They don't have to show up in tanks and brandish assault rifles to get the job done. Let's take 2000 soldiers out of Iraq, give them blue uniforms, handcuffs, a sidearm, and put them in patrol cars in Detroit. If the US military can serve as backup to Iraqi police, they damn sure can serve as backup to Detroit police.

DetroitDad · December-26-10, 04:55 AM

Because capitalism requires there to be losers in order to have winners, my favorite posts are those that profess Detroit helping itself. It's really important that Detroit and Southwest Michigan be synonomous, in these instances.

DetroitDad · December-26-10, 05:02 AM

Originally Posted by erikd

Back to the original topic...

I am a Detroit resident, and I think that the national guard and federal military resources should be deployed when the city/county/state is unable or unwilling to provide basic police protection and services. I recently had this exact discussion with a DPD officer, where I expressed my outrage that the DPD is unable or unwilling to respond to 911 calls. I was informed that the DPD simply doesn't have the manpower and resources to respond to all of the 911 calls in the city. When I suggested that the 911 calls that couldn't be responded to by the DPD be routed to county sheriffs and/or state police, I was informed that the state and county had also made cuts in police staffing, and were simply not able to help the city out on day to day policing.

This situation is simply unacceptable. If the city, county, and state are in such dire straits that emergency calls can not be responded to, we need emergency federal help. Why can't we have the national guard and/or federal military troops respond to 911 calls, or walk a city beat? They don't have to show up in tanks and brandish assault rifles to get the job done. Let's take 2000 soldiers out of Iraq, give them blue uniforms, handcuffs, a sidearm, and put them in patrol cars in Detroit. If the US military can serve as backup to Iraqi police, they damn sure can serve as backup to Detroit police.

Right, the problem with troops is that they are only reactionary and temporary.

**erikd** · December-26-10, 05:22 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitDad

Because capitalism requires there to be losers in order to have winners, my favorite posts are those that profess Detroit helping itself. It's really important that Detroit and Southwest Michigan be synonomous, in these instances.

Detroit is in this current situation largely due to state and federal laws beyond the control of the city. The city of Detroit has suffered greatly as a result of the federally supported destruction of mass transit, construction of freeways, and subsidies supporting suburban sprawl. Detroit has suffered greatly from the federally supported de-industrialization of our economy, the federally supported war on drugs, and the racial issues of this country that lead to the riots, white flight, and racial polarization that exists to this day.

The state and federal governments are largely responsible for the condition of Detroit, and they have some responsibility to help clean up the mess that they created.

**gnome** · December-26-10, 06:55 AM

deftly served, ... you know, the Pity Plate with a side of the feds hate us conspiracy all laced with tinge of racial Gaddisism.

mmm, eat'em up yum.

**softailrider** · December-26-10, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by jtf1972

What is the suburban police attitude toward living in the city you work? I'm guessing that if you were to apply to Troy PD & told them there wasn't a chance in hell that you would ever want to actually live in Troy that they would [[rightfully) hire someone else.

I know it's an issue that people never change their mind on, but I feel that if you want to live in the suburbs and want to be a cop, then you should be a suburban cop.

So by your rationale, if you're a Birmingham cop, you should aspire to live in Birmingham even if you couldn't afford it or didn't want to? And that would be a requirement for you to qualify for the position?

**skyl4rk** · December-26-10, 10:47 AM

This budget analysis for Ferndale is well written. I would bet that most other cities in MI are facing the same thing: a collapse in property tax revenue which will affect the cities' abilities to provide police and fire services.

http://www.ferndale-mi.com/Resources...10/p100922.pdf