Feds swarming the east side.

[Detroitgayhistoryguy]

Meanwhile, with all the AK-47 baby killing mayhem going on. This is what the Detroit police are spending there time with.

http://metrotimes.com/news/raided-again-1.1278631

Detroit needs these young hipsters who are just having some good clean fun. They are moving into the city and starting businesses. A thriving nightlife for young people is key to attracting young professionals into Detroit. But the Detroit police really need to harass them instead of going after the thugs walking around with guns car jacking people?

[SWMAP]

Well, if some cop stops you for speeding, be sure to ask him if he doesn't have anything better to do since AK-47 baby-killing mayhem is going on! That will get you out of the ticket. After all, if he would have been looking around better, maybe doing more patrols somewhere else, he could have prevented the fight at the baby shower and the subsequent plan to shoot up the house! That's what cops should be doing instead of messing with good people. I agree wholeheartedly with your logic.

[Islandman]

How about not using these resources to go check IDs at a legal venue and for these resources to actually show up when you call 911 in a reasonable amount of time?

If I was one of the unlucky citizens that have had to use 911 in Detroit, and not had them show up at all, I would be pissed at this current state of prioritization.

[EastsideAl]

But I'd really like to see the mayor come out strongly, like the Philly Mayor, and make sure the hoods and thugs know that their days are limited..

But, for heaven's sake, he shouldn't say anything about the thugs "hitting 8 Mile Rd." Statements like that by scarily black mayors will apparently be taken out of context and angrily regurgitated ad nauseum by suburbanites for the next 40 years.

[EastsideAl]

Harassing and ticketing people at parties and events, and towing their cars away to be held for ransom, is much safer and definitely more profitable than going out and responding to neighborhood 911 calls for actual, scary, crimes.

[Occurrence]

Aren't the Feds too busy cracking down on medical marijuana to worry about actual real crime?

[Wesley Mouch]

I lived in 48205 til the mid-80s and it was already starting to go downhill by then. I don't think the cops or firefighters would've pushed so hard to eliminate residency requirements had Copper Canyon not been turned upside by violence and crime.

The push was more than just Copper Canyon. A lot of officers already lived in the burbs. So they not unreasonably wanted an unjust law overturned. We can talk all we want about the need for local officers, but it was never a good enough excuse to limit the rights of officers to live where and how they wished -- so long as they do a good job.

I'm glad to hear the Feds are cracking down. My question is this...I would've ordered them to go cover the eastside back in 1985. Why the hell did it take so long?[/QUOTE]

The welcome mat has only been recently put out.

Previously, any effort to move into Detroit's territory would have been greeting with jeers from the usual suspects. Police Unions, City Officials, and Idiots -- all trying to protect their power -- without regard for citizens.

Now, the Usual Suspects are distracted saving their hides from downsizing, privatization, and civic bankruptcy.

[7miledog]

So they not unreasonably wanted an unjust law overturned. We can talk all we want about the need for local officers, but it was never a good enough excuse to limit the rights of officers to live where and how they wished -- so long as they do a good job.

Umm, the officers have the right to work where and for whom they wish, but if they do, they need to follow the rules and regulations of that employer [[as long as they are not unlawful or otherwise prohibited). You, as a big conservative, should appreciate that; you know, employers being able to impose conditions not related to their employment [[like church employees not being eligible for contraception coverage in their health plans?) "Unjust" laws are often in the eyes of the beholder.

[313WX]

The push was more than just Copper Canyon. A lot of officers already lived in the burbs. So they not unreasonably wanted an unjust law overturned. We can talk all we want about the need for local officers, but it was never a good enough excuse to limit the rights of officers to live where and how they wished -- so long as they do a good job.

So you would be ok with Federal Government employees working here and living in Foreign countries, yes [[I'm referring to non-defense Government employees BTW)?

[Crumbled_pavement]

This move might have a temporary impact, but after everything blows over, things will go back to the way they were.

My sentiments exactly. I give this little fed crackdown about a week or two of sustained intensity and then everything goes back to normal. One of these folks even said "it's personal." I damn near fell out my chair laughing. Detroit's crime won't go away until the city is damn near completely depopulated. Then guess where the crime will have moved to?

[softailrider]

My sentiments exactly. I give this little fed crackdown about a week or two of sustained intensity and then everything goes back to normal. One of these folks even said "it's personal." I damn near fell out my chair laughing. Detroit's crime won't go away until the city is damn near completely depopulated. Then guess where the crime will have moved to?

I was all over the Eat side today, from St.Clair up to Hoover and Eight Mile. I didn't see any Feds swarming around anywhere. I don't even remember seeing a regular cop.

[Wheels]

I was all over the Eat side today, from St.Clair up to Hoover and Eight Mile. I didn't see any Feds swarming around anywhere. I don't even remember seeing a regular cop.

When you seem them it's too late.

[Crumbled_pavement]

I was all over the Eat side today, from St.Clair up to Hoover and Eight Mile. I didn't see any Feds swarming around anywhere. I don't even remember seeing a regular cop.

My corrections then. Maybe the crackdown is already over with.

[Dexlin]

Nearly 70% of homicides in Detroit were found to have a drug catalyst [[i.e. drug deals gone bad, botched burglaries to get the money to pay back back debts, etc...). I'm glad the feds are keeping watch, but what will tougher enforcement really solve without addressing the root of the problem? It's the War on Drugs, stupid. Until you address that, honestly, everything's going to be temporary.

Given that the drug trade at the street level is a young man's game, most of these kids get pulled into the trade before they even know what it's about. I even question whether they wouldn't get into it even if they were educated early about it given the other [[very limited) options. You know, economic redevelopment is always a good, long-term solution to this, but that takes years. I think there is stuff in the very short-term that could be done that could cut down on violence, significantly, but there is no political will for it due to centuries-long taboos and narrow ideologies. Unless we're willing to finally break these, and try something new, you're either simply going to tamp down on the drug trade [[which will explode as soon as the top is loosened on the pressure) or you're going to redirect into some other community.

You know, any relief is good relief. I'm just forever disappointed that the focus remains on enforcement-only policies, as enforcement is inherently reactionary, and even more so if its not backed up by reforms before the point.

[DetroitTeacher]

Cops and Firemen also lived in Warrendale...we were one such family. I have to say that many of the cops and DFD still choose Warrendale in which to live. I drive through sometimes on my way home from work and it's still a pretty decent little neighborhood [[at least from an outsider looking in) although nothing like it was back in the 70s-80s!

From my parents' perspective, I could totally see them not liking the residency requirement. When we moved, DPS was riddled with gangs [[I think more-so than now), it wasn't as safe as it once was to let the kids out to play, etc. I know it sucked for them to be told where they could and couldn't live.

Growing up in this neighborhood[[although we moved away in late 70s) it obvious to me.

Area around 7/Kelly used to be called Copper Canyon. All the police and firemen lived there. Sent thier kids to catholic school.

Mid-90's, State of Mich, passed law outlawing residence req's for city employees. Engler signed it but it was mostly cop and firemen unions who pushed for it.

Once passed, 7/Kelly cleared out within 5-10 yrs.

The rest of 48205 was not affected as much by this, but that decline[[especially near city airport) had already reached tipping point.

my 2 c

[corktownyuppie]

Nearly 70% of homicides in Detroit were found to have a drug catalyst [[i.e. drug deals gone bad, botched burglaries to get the money to pay back back debts, etc...). I'm glad the feds are keeping watch, but what will tougher enforcement really solve without addressing the root of the problem? It's the War on Drugs, stupid. Until you address that, honestly, everything's going to be temporary.

Given that the drug trade at the street level is a young man's game, most of these kids get pulled into the trade before they even know what it's about. I even question whether they wouldn't get into it even if they were educated early about it given the other [[very limited) options. You know, economic redevelopment is always a good, long-term solution to this, but that takes years. I think there is stuff in the very short-term that could be done that could cut down on violence, significantly, but there is no political will for it due to centuries-long taboos and narrow ideologies. Unless we're willing to finally break these, and try something new, you're either simply going to tamp down on the drug trade [[which will explode as soon as the top is loosened on the pressure) or you're going to redirect into some other community.

You know, any relief is good relief. I'm just forever disappointed that the focus remains on enforcement-only policies, as enforcement is inherently reactionary, and even more so if its not backed up by reforms before the point.

I'm open-minded enough to listen. What other short-term non-enforcement ideas could be added to provide some relief? And what are the political obstacles/solutions around it?


I look at Raphael Johnson and what he's doing with the Detroit 300. I went to school with Raphael and remember being scared that some of the violence was spreading to my circles. But what he's done since his time is absolutely remarkable.

He's showing real leadership at a grass roots level in a community that is starving. What if we had 10 more Raphael's? 100 more? This would be a different city indeed.

I think much of the frustration is that people are looking to city government to fix this problem. I believe that city govt, along with federal law enforcement, can be very effective...but only to a point. Where city government fails is in providing social services and a social safety net. Whether it's incompetence or corruption, Detroit has shown that its bureaucracy is too dysfunctional to do what Raphael is doing. An even without the corruption, some would argue that the city will only be as good as the people in it. The "no-snitch" culture is something that needs to change from the ground up, not the top down.

It's the people and the community that need to step up and we have a serious void where we need some real leadership.

What's challenging -- IMHO -- is that the leadership can't be trained from the outside. There is no corporate training manual that churn out 10-20 community leaders per year to fight this problem.

It needs the credibility that Raphael has in order to be effective. Which means that there needs to be a CONVERSION. It needs to be people who were in the trenches, doing stupid shit, paying the price, and now preventing their peers from doing the same.

How do we multiply Johnson so that there are 100 of them? So that there are 5-10 new Raphael's coming out of the factory every graduation day?

When someone answers this, I think we will make real progress.

[Dexlin]

I'm really not going to go much into it because I simply don't have the stomach for it, anymore, but I'm talking about something much different than the community organization angle, though, that will put a dent in it. The single biggest thing that could be done is to make the drug trade less lucrative. At the end of the day, it all comes back to money, no matter how little or how risky it may seem from the outside looking in. There is money in murder, or at least the type of murder that has become an epidemic in Detroit. I think you could shave off a good 25 to 50% of the city's murders by bringing that money above board. Once you take some of the incentive out, then community organization becomes a big factor that can further pick up further potential murderers left in the trade, and this also takes a crack at murders as a result of domestic disputes. From there, enforcement can start getting into the most violent criminals who'd be on the street regardless...and so on. So, just to reiterate, I think the biggest dent that can be put into the murder count would be to focus on bringing some of the street trade [[low-level street dealers) into the light and out of the underworld; that'd take a pretty significant chunk out of the count right away. In lieu of jobs deciding to relocate to Detroit, you have to start making jobs out of what people are already doing.

[corktownyuppie]

I will support your platform to end the drug war. This is similar to what needs to be done in Mexico. Anytime there's that much money to make in an underworld, things will get ugly. Combine the immaturity of youth lacking parental guidance and low literacy, and, well....

I think we'll see it in my lifetime. There's too many people born after 1970 that just can't justify the endless killing involved in an underworld that too many of us participate in.

[Occurrence]

So you would be ok with Federal Government employees working here and living in Foreign countries, yes [[I'm referring to non-defense Government employees BTW)?

Why would anyone have a problem with that? People should be able to live wherever they wish.

[hortonz]

I grew up on Windsor's near east-side. It was a great place back in the 70's but by the time I left in '85 the place began going downhill as the older folks died off and their kids moved out. Now my old neigborhood looks like it's been abandoned and the house looks like a crack house.

[Hypestyles]

guns, drugs, maniacs all have to go.. I hope there is genuine cooperation among the law enforcement agencies and not a bunch of posturing and turf-guarding.. we'll see..

[Wheels]

In 2006 Mexico stepped up their war on drugs. Since then they have gone from around 4,000 Federal solders to near 45,000 fighting drug cartels. Murders have gone from 62 in 2006 to over 16,000 in 2011. Be careful what you ask for.

[401don]

In 2006 Mexico stepped up their war on drugs. Since then they have gone from around 4,000 Federal solders to near 45,000 fighting drug cartels. Murders have gone from 62 in 2006 to over 16,000 in 2011. Be careful what you ask for.

62 murders in all of Mexico in 2006? I don't think so.

[Wheels]

62 murders in all of Mexico in 2006? I don't think so.

Whoops, sorry.
That should have been 2,062.

[socks_mahoney]

The push was more than just Copper Canyon. A lot of officers already lived in the burbs. So they not unreasonably wanted an unjust law overturned. We can talk all we want about the need for local officers, but it was never a good enough excuse to limit the rights of officers to live where and how they wished -- so long as they do a good job.

I'm glad to hear the Feds are cracking down. My question is this...I would've ordered them to go cover the eastside back in 1985. Why the hell did it take so long?

Please excuse my ignorance. But what is this here Copper Canyon?