Originally Posted by
SWMAP
Update on Project 14 from Charlie LeDuff on July 28, 2011:
But you might remember that Bing tried the same thing with another grand proclamation back in February. Known as Project 14, the city set aside $30 million in federal money to encourage police officers to move back to the city. The incentives are generous: $25,000 for a down payment, up to $150,000 on renovations and the possibility of loan forgiveness. Many of the city owned properties are in places like Boston Edison.
So how many cops have moved back to date?
Zero.
As one cop told me: “It’s too dangerous.”
If a cop feels that way, what does it tell you about the true state of the city? I reported a month ago that Detroit’s murder rate is spiraling out of control. As Chief Ralph Godbee tried to put a happy face on the problem this week by telling reporters that overall serious crime is actually down, my colleague Taryn Asher reported that a 21-year-old man who was plugged in the head at an east side gas station.
The new fire commissioner tells me he’s never seen a department so depleted and demoralized. On some nights we’re running just 14 ambulances – less than Cleveland a city half the size of Detroit. Sometimes fire trucks are replaced with pickup trucks because nobody downtown seems competent enough to fix the rigs.
Public Safety should be the mayor's blueprint. Because without a plan for safe streets, we’re just building on mud.