Empty Jail Cells in Detroit

[kraig]

May 28, 2009


Why are the jail cells empty?

Sheriff, prosecutor say crime isn't dropping but arrests by police are

BY JEFF GERRITT
FREE PRESS EDITORIAL WRITER Empty jail cells are normally something to celebrate, but Wayne County's top law enforcement officials say the hundreds of vacant jail beds are not because of a drop in crime or more reasonable sentencing. Floors of the downtown Detroit jail are empty because police are arresting fewer people accused of those crimes.
Altogether, three county jails that held about 2,500 prisoners a year ago now house 400 fewer inmates.
Sheriff Warren Evans said police are so slow to respond to some calls that the crimes never get reported. Prosecutor Kym Worthy was more blunt:
"We don't tell the truth about crime," she said.
Detroit has lost hundreds of sworn officers in recent years. The Police Department didn't respond to repeated requests for interviews with its top leaders, but it released preliminary statistics showing an overall decline in criminal activity this year, despite a 24% increase in homicides.
East-sider Joyce Betty, 56, isn't buying it.
Last February, a young assailant snatched Betty's purse, which contained $300 in cash, while she pumped gas at a Mack Avenue filling station. Surveillance cameras captured the crime on videotape, but police never responded.
Said Betty: "I have little faith in the Detroit Police Department."
Empty cells point to police breakdown


It's an incredible sight: In a city riddled with crime, entire floors of the Wayne County Jail in downtown Detroit are empty.

The seventh floor of the Baird Detention Facility, normally home to 128 newly arrested prisoners, is vacant. So are the ninth floor and half of the 12th floor. Another 128 beds at the Dickerson Detention Facility in Hamtramck are also closed. That adds up to more than 400 empty beds in Wayne County jails that, up to about a year ago, were filled with roughly 2,500 prisoners.

The main explanation is simple, according to the county's top two law enforcement officials: Detroit police are making fewer arrests, a dereliction so obvious it has led some Detroiters to conclude there's no point in even calling the cops.

"I've talked to dozens, probably hundreds, of people in the community who are telling me they never made a report because the police never came," Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said Tuesday. "The delay in response time is such that many, many, many crimes don't get reported."

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy agrees, echoing Evan's assertion that decreases in reported crimes are misleading.

"We tell the press that crime is going down," Worthy said. "It's not going down; it's going up, exponentially, and we have many fewer officers on the street. We need to acknowledge the problem."

The Detroit Police Department did not respond to several requests for comment last week. Instead, a department spokeswoman, citing preliminary police statistics, said overall crime in the city so far this year is down 9.1%, excluding a 24% increase in homicides -- a trend that, if true, would partly explain the jail's decreasing census, especially for those awaiting trial.

In 2007, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department recorded 20,423 felony bookings. Last year, there were just 18,261 -- a drop of more than 10% in a single year. So far this year, bookings have continued to drop roughly 10%, said Undersheriff Daniel Pfannes.

But few city residents think a drop in crime is the reason. Ask east-sider Joyce Betty, 56. A young man snatched her purse, with $300 in it, out of her car while she pumped gas at Mack and Gratiot in February. Betty called 911 on her cell. Police never responded. "They made no attempt to contact me," Betty said, even though the gas station has surveillance tapes of the incident. "It's water over the dam, but I have little faith in the Detroit Police Department."

Neither Oakland nor Macomb Counties report comparable declines in their own jail populations. Both counties' cells remain full, despite innovative efforts to manage the population, Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel and Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe say.

Pontiac, however, is experiencing a trend similar to Detroit's: Arrests have declined as the number of sworn officers has dropped from 170 to 65 in the last three years.

The Detroit Police Department deploys about half the number of sworn officers it did in the 1990s, and has lost roughly 1,000 officers over the last five years.

Even serious crimes aren't getting solved. Arrests are made in only 37% of Detroit homicides, compared to more than 60% nationwide. Officers have too little time to investigate, and they work with a community that often does not trust them. Detroit's shuttered police crime lab has raised more troubling questions about homicide investigations.

Another reason arrests are down is the closing -- for good cause -- of many decrepit, pre-arraignment holding cells under a federal consent decree that is mandating reforms. Six years ago, police held 350 in such lockups, compared to about 130 today. Shift supervisors, and probably officers, know when the lockups are full.

Evans said he offered to lease county jail cells for police lockups five years ago. Negotiations continue, but a deal should have been struck long before this.


Privately, some law enforcement officials also say Detroit police are frustrated by the added paperwork required for arrests under the federal consent decree. But that's no excuse for failing to perform. The consent decree, signed in 2003, might be a headache, but it's one the department earned by abusing the citizens it was supposed to protect, including mistreatment of prisoners in lockups and dragnet arrests of homicide witnesses. The department also had the highest rate of fatal shootings by officers among America's big cities.

Fundamental breakdowns in other basic services also decrease public safety. Copper thieves have made land-line phone service in parts of the city, especially on the east side, unreliable and sporadic. It's not unusual for phone lines to be dead when crime victims try to call 911.

No one is questioning the integrity or competence of underpaid Detroit police officers. They work hard and, in many cases, risk their lives daily. But the department continues to do 1970s-style policing, reacting to crime rather than using data-driven policing efforts. The Michigan Department of Corrections and other criminal justice agencies have information that would enable the department to focus its resources on people most likely to commit crimes.

"In dealing with crime, particularly violent crime, a data-driven surgical approach is the direction we need to go," said former U.S. Attorney Saul Green, group executive for public safety under new Mayor Dave Bing. "I do believe we have some improvements to make in that area."
Until then, floors of empty Wayne County jail cells -- normally a reason to celebrate -- should comfort no one.

JEFF GERRITT is a Free Press editorial writer. Contact him at gerritt@freepress.com or 313-222-6585.





Business as usual.

[Retroit]

Well that's one way to decrease the crime rate - just stop arresting people. How about we close down 911 so we can decrease the number of reported crimes. Heck, Detroit can be crime free in no time.

[eriedearie]

hummm....could those empty beds be used for Detroit's homeless in the meantime? No strings attached for them - only a place to lie down. Just a thought -

[Retroit]

hummm....could those empty beds be used for Detroit's homeless in the meantime? No strings attached for them - only a place to lie down. Just a thought -

No, silly. You have to be a hardened criminal in order to receive 3 free meals a day, free health care, free legal services, free recreation, free entertainment, free police protection, free housing, free utilities,...

[Locke09]

This is the most serious issue in Detroit for me. If I, and the criminals, don't believe that the police will come when called, then I can't feel safe, even locked up within my own home. And if criminals know there is little follow up to crime, then there is no deterrent for them.This is the single thing that will likely result in my leaving Detroit.

[nouthen]

sounds like a perfect time to take the kids down for a walk

[9mile&seneca]

And best of all, criminals can be assured that whomever they decide to prey upon, will not be armed! It's a borgasmorg!

[daddeeo]

What ever happened to the slogan "To Serve, Honor and Protect?"
How much lower can things go?

[ejames01]

What?!?!?! What make you think that?

And best of all, criminals can be assured that whomever they decide to prey upon, will not be armed! It's a borgasmorg!

[EastsideAl]

Something has gone very wrong with our police department. The DPD has always been undersized and stretched pretty thin, but at least they generally responded to emergency calls. I knew and know a number of people on the job and the department has many good officers who take their jobs very seriously, but in recent years a real culture of demoralization and dissatisfaction seems to have crept in, and recent reductions in force have only made it worse. There often seems to be almost no will at all anymore on the part of the department itself to actually do a significant portion of their job. Is there anyone here who can give us a little more insight into what is going on internally in the department?

[ejames01]

Armed Robbers Strike Detroit, Warren



http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/19583372/detail.html

[mjs]

I remember when Duggan had a chart in the hallway of one of the Prosecutor's floors that plotted the number of people released from Wayne County prison every week for over crowding. If I recall correctly, it was about 50 to 100 a week. Duggan said Evans was later able to offer space to Detroit because Duggan reduced holding time of those charged with crimes as he went to the press about Judges working too short of hours. Worthy has said that Duggan's criticism of Judge's hours was without merit.

[rugbyman]

Al- it's really a function of how overstretched everyone is in the department. Just a few examples:

I was working on case a few months ago at Frank Murphy and was talking to a few cops during some down time. A sergeant told me that over the course of the weekend she no more than FOUR squad cars patrolling the Northwestern District because of understaffing. Four. At most. In the beginning of the shortages, cops were excited to be earning the premium paychecks for overtime to cover the slots, but after months of 50, 60. even 70 hour weeks in some cases, people stopped volunteering to work the extra hours.

Another example? I was on a CSC case and that particular night the cops told me their 2 hour response time to the call was because they had two higher priority runs before they could even get to it. Don't tell me the city's crime problem is exacerbated because the cops don't care about taking their jobs seriously- what would you have the cops do in that situation? Leave the murder scene they're on? The shots fired run? Detroit is probably just about the only major city in the country where literally every unit working at a given time in a given precinct can legitimately be too busy with higher priority runs to respond to a rape call.

Is that to say every cop is Joe Friday? Of course not. But the lion's share are decent, hardworking men and women doing they best they can in an unbelievably shitty situation. Put the blame somewhere, just not on the cops.

[DetroitDad]

Wow!

How.... why.... who....

Just wow.

[Locke09]

Al- it's really a function of how overstretched everyone is in the department. Just a few examples:

I was working on case a few months ago at Frank Murphy and was talking to a few cops during some down time. A sergeant told me that over the course of the weekend she no more than FOUR squad cars patrolling the Northwestern District because of understaffing. Four. At most. In the beginning of the shortages, cops were excited to be earning the premium paychecks for overtime to cover the slots, but after months of 50, 60. even 70 hour weeks in some cases, people stopped volunteering to work the extra hours.

Let's look at just the Northwestern District that you reference here. It has 370 budgeted positions. 313 of those are classified as "police officers". The others are supervisory and other support positions.

4 squad cars is 8 people. 3 shifts makes 24 people per day. The numbers are not adding up. There must be high absenteeism, or a huge number of vacancies or something going on. Even if 50% of your people were out sick or on vacation, that still leaves about 156 people for patrol. I know some cops have to be in court on any given day, but this does not add up for me. Are there not enough vehicles? What accounts for the huge discrepancy?

There need to be serious efforts to have as many desk jobs as possible performed by civilians, so that officers doing desk jobs can be returned to the streets. But the police union regularly fights that. Cops do all sorts of non-policing duties. Every chief gives lip service to this, but has any ever accomplished it?

24 officers available. There's something wrong beyond understaffing.

[DetroitDad]

Let's look at just the Northwestern District that you reference here. It has 370 budgeted positions. 313 of those are classified as "police officers". The others are supervisory and other support positions.

4 squad cars is 8 people. 3 shifts makes 24 people per day. The numbers are not adding up. There must be high absenteeism, or a huge number of vacancies or something going on. Even if 50% of your people were out sick or on vacation, that still leaves about 156 people for patrol. I know some cops have to be in court on any given day, but this does not add up for me. Are there not enough vehicles? What accounts for the huge discrepancy?

There need to be serious efforts to have as many desk jobs as possible performed by civilians, so that officers doing desk jobs can be returned to the streets. But the police union regularly fights that. Cops do all sorts of non-policing duties. Every chief gives lip service to this, but has any ever accomplished it?

24 officers available. There's something wrong beyond understaffing.

The answer is D; all of the above. From reading various news articles, Detroit Police Department is understaffed, has some sort of contractual squad car problem [[ask Supersport), has low morale, and has a high level of absenteeism. On top of this, you have a community that doesn't trust cops, and much corruption higher up the chain. You're seeing multiple problems adding up to form large problems in many areas of concern in Detroit, from schools to crime, to depopulation, to pollution.

[nouthen]

I used to think that movie Robo Cop was full of crap...but I am starting to believe

[WolverinesA2]

The National Guard helped police the streets of New Orleans for almost 3 years after Katrina hit, long after the flooding was over. They stayed on because crime was out of control and the police force had shrunk considerably.

Certainly you could argue that the financial situation this state and city are in constitute an emergency. Crime is out of control. The police are ineffective almost to the point of being useless. Maybe Granholm should consider calling up some Guardsmen to patrol Detroit.

[MIRepublic]

You send the National Guard back in after '67 and you better be ready for another '67 to happen. Hell, even Engler wouldn't have ever proposed sending the National Guard back to Detroit with the key were being 'back' because everyone still remembers. The only option is for continued reform and development of DPD, simply put. The other idea isn't a realistic option given modern city history.

[defendbrooklyn]

As long as people don't get hurt or displaced we could use another "67"... It would be a community service to tear down some structures and start over.

[WolverinesA2]

You send the National Guard back in after '67 and you better be ready for another '67 to happen. Hell, even Engler wouldn't have ever proposed sending the National Guard back to Detroit with the key were being 'back' because everyone still remembers. The only option is for continued reform and development of DPD, simply put. The other idea isn't a realistic option given modern city history.

There's nobody in Detroit under the age of 50 who actually remembers the riots. Ask your average Detroiter age 18-35 about the riots and I'm willing to bet that more than half of them don't even know what they are or what they were about. Besides, the NG in New Orleans didn't drive around in tanks or half-ton trucks, they drove around in police cars. They didn't walk the streets in full combat gear and carrying M-16's, they wore simple uniforms and carried a pistol and other police gear. They were police officers in camo, not soldiers.

Picture of a Louisiana National Guardsman on police patrol in New Orleans:

http://www.defenselink.mil/dodcmssha...-0635O-001.JPG

What's wrong with that? Looks fine to me. Aside from the uniform, there's no difference between him and a regular city police officer. Please don't pretend like people have a legitimate reason to burn, loot and riot just because they see camouflage clothing.

[detmich]

Why do you all hate Detroit? This happens in every major city, but the press only reports on it in Detroit. Chicago has the same problem.

Detroit is a safe city and anyone should feel safe walking around anywhere in it. You suburbanites really piss me off with your anti-Detroit attitudes. Racists.

[Stosh]

You send the National Guard back in after '67 and you better be ready for another '67 to happen. Hell, even Engler wouldn't have ever proposed sending the National Guard back to Detroit with the key were being 'back' because everyone still remembers. The only option is for continued reform and development of DPD, simply put. The other idea isn't a realistic option given modern city history.

There are many distinctions between the 67 riot and the potential situation mentioned for the DPD to have a little help. Besides, the '67 guardsmen were, for the most part, white. I'd bet that that's not the case today. And also, I don't think the presence would be as big as a deal as it was then, and not in tanks either.

[daddeeo]

Hey, I lived in Detroit for 27 years and it is not a safe city!! Maybe back in the 50's and early 60's but not since then.

[ejames01]

Shut up!

Why do you all hate Detroit? This happens in every major city, but the press only reports on it in Detroit. Chicago has the same problem.

Detroit is a safe city and anyone should feel safe walking around anywhere in it. You suburbanites really piss me off with your anti-Detroit attitudes. Racists.