DFD busier than usual on Angels Night?

[Fnemecek]

Okay, so how many people here actually volunteered to make things better?

It is no pancea, but anyone who has lived here know that eyes and ears make all the difference. The administrations may use it as a PR tool but we are really looking out for our neighborhoods.

So next year quit your bitching and grab a flashlight.

All was quiet on the eastern front. We encountered children and people raking their leaves. It was the early shift, mind you, but serenity reigns in pockets of Detroit.

Attitudes like this really piss me off.

This may come as a shock to you but, in most cities across the United States, it isn't necessary for volunteers to do anything in order to prevent a few hundred arson fires from breaking out.

And - by the way - those other cities have a tax burden that is half of Detroit's.

At what point to we stop blaming the victims and start talking about the basic competency of the folks in city hall.

[woodwardboy]

just walked my hood for 3 hours.. damn its cold out there tonight... all quiet so far...

[DetroitPole]

Attitudes like this really piss me off.

This may come as a shock to you but, in most cities across the United States, it isn't necessary for volunteers to do anything in order to prevent a few hundred arson fires from breaking out.

And - by the way - those other cities have a tax burden that is half of Detroit's.

At what point to we stop blaming the victims and start talking about the basic competency of the folks in city hall.

Sorry, I understand what you are saying.

Unfortunately we do have to volunteer to prevent total destruction. I think DPD and DFD do a fine job most of the time, the problem is with the City-County Building and of course the large amount of no-goodniks we have in this city.

I think volunteering is an essential part of citizenship in a community. Even if I lived in Grosse Pointe I would volunteer in the neighborhood in some way. In Detroit we have to do it for survival though.

Mainly my point was directed at the posters who chortle at and decry the chaos of Devil's Night without doing anything to help. If they're really that outraged, they should volunteer to make things better or STFU.

[Fnemecek]

Sorry, I understand what you are saying.

Unfortunately we do have to volunteer to prevent total destruction. I think DPD and DFD do a fine job most of the time, the problem is with the City-County Building and of course the large amount of no-goodniks we have in this city.

I think volunteering is an essential part of citizenship in a community. Even if I lived in Grosse Pointe I would volunteer in the neighborhood in some way. In Detroit we have to do it for survival though.

Mainly my point was directed at the posters who chortle at and decry the chaos of Devil's Night without doing anything to help. If they're really that outraged, they should volunteer to make things better or STFU.

I've volunteer on Devil's Night for several years - each time met with its own issues. Quite frankly, I have serious doubts as to whether or not it actually does do any good.

It's like being in a boat that is sinking. You can bail out water as fast as you want. Sooner or later, though, - if you really want to survive - you have to ask yourself an important question. How this water is getting into the boat in the first place?

In the case of a sinking boat, if you don't plug the leaks in time, all of the bailing in the world won't do much good.

In the case of Detroit, citizen can serve as the eyes and ears of the police department. We can report what we see, hear, and know. I have had neighbors call in a report as soon as the arsonist breaks into a vacant house with a can of gasoline in hand.

But no one shows up to make an arrest.

When the arsonist flees that vacant house that is now on fire, neighbors flag down a passing police officer to tell them what they saw and that they know exactly who it was that set the blaze. The officer then stands there in front of a burning building; in front of an eyewitness who is willing to testify and say that there isn't anything that he can do.

I have to ask: in situations like that, what exactly is the benefit of patrolling?

There was another case a few years where some volunteers were on a patrol. A group of armed gunmen [[affiliated with one of the local drug gangs, by the way the way they were dressed) surrounds their car and tells them to get of the neighborhood. They later reported the matter to police, but nothing ever happens.

In situations like that, what exactly is the benefit of patrolling?

I've had other instances where a volunteer had their car pelted with rocks, eggs, or whatever. They call it in, but nothing happens.

In situations like that, what exactly is the benefit of patrolling?

For those who do continue to patrol, how long will we keep bailing out the boat before we decide to start plugging a few leaks?

[Gannon]

Frank,

It seems that Chief Godbee had his resources throwing parties for the children at the precincts...but it doesn't explain the lack of response for the rest of the weekend.


You shine a great deal of light onto the situation here.


As I said before, this is a situation exacerbated by a distinct lack of leadership in City Hall and within the Police Department. If I were a fire-fighter, I'd be royally pissed that their negligence continues to put the entire Fire Department at risk.



Your analogy holds water. [[sorry, couldn't resist!)


Cheers, anyways. This will all be part of the dialogue for the upcoming year. Time to start an Angel's YEAR initiative. Start snitching on all the bullshit that allows these to continue.