Detroit News: DPD routinely underreporting homicides [[AKA covering up murders)

**WolverinesA2** · June-18-09, 10:53 AM

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090...micides/?imw=Y

A thorough look at the 2008 homicide statistics reveals other omissions:

• In one case, the police reclassified a homicide as a suicide.
• Two men were stabbed to death, but were not included due to "insufficient evidence."
• A man who was beaten to death, according to the medical examiner, died by accident, according to the police.
• A baby beaten to death never made the homicide tally, nor did a man who was found shot in the head.

Detroit = The Wire

Got to juke the stats, we can't pull those bodies out of the rowhouses!

Since this has been going on for years, it's safe to say that homicide tallies for previous years for the City of Detroit are almost certainly too low. And if this is going on for murders, what other serious crimes are being swept under the rug to keep the stats lower? The sad part is, if a murder is reclassified as a suicide or an accident, then it isn't being investigated and a MURDERER gets to walk free.

**ejames01** · June-18-09, 11:08 AM

Where the heck are Bunk & McNulty?

**kraig** · June-18-09, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by ejames01

Where the heck are Bunk & McNulty?

Nah, for this you need Lester, to find all of those bodies in the vacant row houses.

**Ray1936** · June-18-09, 11:42 AM

One minute.

If this IS going on, and it seems to be simple conjecture near as I can read between the lines, it is orchestrate by the very top brass of the DPD [[and city administration) and not the rank and file. The grunts of Homicide do their darndest, believe me. And if some Deputy Chief told a grunt to change a murder cast to a suicide when it wasn't, I can darn near guarantee you that the press would have been tipped off to specific cases.

Anyway, don't indict the whole DPD for lying. Those of you who took statistics 101 know well how you can manipulate figures.

**iheartthed** · June-18-09, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

One minute.

If this IS going on, and it seems to be simple conjecture near as I can read between the lines, it is orchestrate by the very top brass of the DPD [[and city administration) and not the rank and file. The grunts of Homicide do their darndest, believe me. And if some Deputy Chief told a grunt to change a murder cast to a suicide when it wasn't, I can darn near guarantee you that the press would have been tipped off to specific cases.

Anyway, don't indict the whole DPD for lying. Those of you who took statistics 101 know well how you can manipulate figures.

And Detroit is surely not the only department fudging their figures.

**kraig** · June-18-09, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

And Detroit is surely not the only department fudging their figures.

I know what you mean. After all, there were probably 125 murders in Grosse Ile last year, we just didn't hear about them.

**firstandten** · June-18-09, 12:38 PM

You rarely hear on the news about murders Unless its more than one person or it was an unusal situation. People get gunned down every day, you just don't hear about it.

**rb336** · June-18-09, 12:46 PM

SOP for police everywhere

**iheartthed** · June-18-09, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by kraig

I know what you mean. After all, there were probably 125 murders in Grosse Ile last year, we just didn't hear about them.

I'm talking about other major cities.

**kraig** · June-18-09, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I'm talking about other major cities.

Does it make Detroit any safer is Baltimore or St. Louis is lying about their numbers? What matters is that our Law Enforcement is conducting itself honestly here. Whether it's in the reporting or the investigating.

**detrola** · June-18-09, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

And Detroit is surely not the only department fudging their figures.

More proof positive that the number one issue facing detroit is the pervasive systemic culture of denial. It does not matter if detroit is not the only city "fudging their figures" What matters is that numbers were misrepresented. What matters even more is that these "numbers" equal DEAD PEOPLE.

Let me apply your "detroit is not the only" argument to some other issues facing the city.
Detroit is not the ony city:
...to have a Mayor resign and do time in jail.
...to have several city Council Members indicted, and/or under federal investigation etc.
...to have a state appointed emergency finacial manager in charge if its' school system.
...to be facing a budget deficit in the hundreds of millions range.
...to have more people moving out that into it year after year.
...to have a HS graduation rate that ranks among the worst in the nation.
...to have a murder rate that ranks at or near the worst in the nation.
...to have a jobless rate that ranks among the worst in the nation.

I could go on, and on, and on some more. Sure other cities face one or even several of these issues. But very few, if any face, all these issues and to the severe degree that detroit does. There are two school of thought concerning news stories that paint the city in a negative light. Some say "hey it's like this everywhere, why not report something positive". I reject that sentiment. I would rather that we get everything out in the open, no denial, no excuses. Let us confront the issues and begin the long process of reform. Sqabbling over numbers and using the "detroit is not the only city" argument only serves to ignore the severity and number of issues and contributes to the long slow decline

**iheartthed** · June-18-09, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by detrola

More proof positive that the number one issue facing detroit is the pervasive systemic culture of denial. It does not matter if detroit is not the only city "fudging their figures" What matters is that numbers were misrepresented. What matters even more is that these "numbers" equal DEAD PEOPLE.

Let me apply your "detroit is not the only" argument to some other issues facing the city.
Detroit is not the ony city:
...to have a Mayor resign and do time in jail.
...to have several city Council Members indicted, and/or under federal investigation etc.
...to have a state appointed emergency finacial manager in charge if its' school system.
...to be facing a budget deficit in the hundreds of millions range.
...to have more people moving out that into it year after year.
...to have a HS graduation rate that ranks among the worst in the nation.
...to have a murder rate that ranks at or near the worst in the nation.
...to have a jobless rate that ranks among the worst in the nation.

I could go on, and on, and on some more. Sure other cities face one or even several of these issues. But very few, if any face, all these issues and to the severe degree that detroit does. There are two school of thought concerning news stories that paint the city in a negative light. Some say "hey it's like this everywhere, why not report something positive". I reject that sentiment. I would rather that we get everything out in the open, no denial, no excuses. Let us confront the issues and begin the long process of reform. Sqabbling over numbers and using the "detroit is not the only city" argument only serves to ignore the severity and number of issues and contributes to the long slow decline

It absolutely does matter when you are trying to measure the relative "danger" of one city against another. So please, have a coke and a smile and...... you know the rest.

**kraig** · June-18-09, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

It absolutely does matter when you are trying to measure the relative "danger" of one city against another. So please, have a coke and a smile and...... you know the rest.

LMFAO. I do have to give you style points for that one.

**detrola** · June-18-09, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

It absolutely does matter when you are trying to measure the relative "danger" of one city against another. So please, have a coke and a smile and...... you know the rest.

Thanks for again proving my contention that the number one issue facing detroit is the pervasive, systemic culture of denial. I was not suggesting that the number does not matter in gathering data as a matter of statistical analysis. My point is simply that too often the focus is placed on the number rather than the reality that the number represents. Is detroit the murder capital or the runner up to that title? If this were the only sad list on which detroit is at or near the top, then it may be appropriate to fixate on the numbers to gleen an accurate assessment of detroit's true place on the list. The issue is detroit is at or near the top of many such lists.

My main argument is against the wrong headed "detroit is not the only city..." form of denial that you perpetuated in your post. How many times and for how many issues will you use this defense? An intervention will do no good until you and those like you stop the denial. When you stop looking at the trees you may realize that you are in a forest...and I'm sure you know well the rest.

**WolverinesA2** · June-18-09, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

One minute.

If this IS going on, and it seems to be simple conjecture near as I can read between the lines

I'll take the word of the News/Free Press over ANYONE in Detroit city government any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Do you really doubt this is going on, or do you truly honestly believe that Detroit only had 340 murders last year? That's the number that the DPD reported and it doesn't pass the smell test from where I'm sitting.

**Hypestyles** · June-18-09, 03:09 PM

bizarre... is the FBI oversight/probe still ongoing... what about the departments tech upgrades that were supposed to happen regarding its filing system?