The elephant in the room: CRIME

[Honky Tonk]

Taxpayer money pays for all our policing. There is just some extra spending around WSU. It's almost as if you can deal with some problems by spending money, but I know that's just crazy talk.

It's only crazy talk when it's being spent more in one area then another.

[erikd]

It's only crazy talk when it's being spent more in one area then another.

What is the problem with WSUPD patrolling the campus and surrounding area?

WSU has buildings all over the Cass Corridor, Medical Center, and other areas in Midtown, in addition to a significant student population living in non-university-owned housing in these areas. It is quite common for state universities to patrol areas on and around their campuses.

WSUPD isn't diverting any funding away from the DPD, or the city of Detroit, and the off-campus police support provided by the WSUPD helps to free up DPD patrol resources to be redeployed into other areas of the city.

There are a number of posts on this thread that seem to suggest that the WSU policing around campus somehow isn't fair, or is some kind of misuse of tax dollars, but I fail to see the reasoning behind this sentiment.

[Honky Tonk]

What is the problem with WSUPD patrolling the campus and surrounding area?

WSU has buildings all over the Cass Corridor, Medical Center, and other areas in Midtown, in addition to a significant student population living in non-university-owned housing in these areas. It is quite common for state universities to patrol areas on and around their campuses.

WSUPD isn't diverting any funding away from the DPD, or the city of Detroit, and the off-campus police support provided by the WSUPD helps to free up DPD patrol resources to be redeployed into other areas of the city.

There are a number of posts on this thread that seem to suggest that the WSU policing around campus somehow isn't fair, or is some kind of misuse of tax dollars, but I fail to see the reasoning behind this sentiment.

The problem is you don't seem to be getting it. Why are you even bringing up WSU "free policing", if it is indeed "free"? If Midtown residents want to work out a deal to use WSU police, more power to them. The conversation seems to be about crime in the rest of the City and not just in the Utopian part. In fact, I don't see where anyone even suggested taxpayer funds are being diverted to WSU police. DPD IS being used as security guards @ sporting events and even as crossing guards in Midtown while crime is still out of control in other parts of the City where other Detroiters live, without subsidies. It gets a little old reading about how wonderful life is in efin' Midtown.

[313WX]

The problem is you don't seem to be getting it.

Bingo. You got it.

And as far as the comment about WSUPD being government-subsizied, it benefits from streams of revenue that the DPD doesn't [[Stafford Loans, Scholarships, Pell Grants, etc.), which is part of the reason it's able to operate so efficiently. And quite frankly, without the WSUPD [[or if its additional funding sources were cut), Midtown would be in the same predicament as the rest of the city.

[Wesley Mouch]

The problem is you don't seem to be getting it. Why are you even bringing up WSU "free policing", if it is indeed "free"? If Midtown residents want to work out a deal to use WSU police, more power to them. The conversation seems to be about crime in the rest of the City and not just in the Utopian part. In fact, I don't see where anyone even suggested taxpayer funds are being diverted to WSU police. DPD IS being used as security guards @ sporting events and even as crossing guards in Midtown while crime is still out of control in other parts of the City where other Detroiters live, without subsidies. It gets a little old reading about how wonderful life is in efin' Midtown.

It is appropriate for some police to be stationed at major public assemblies. Only police can act on certain kinds of crime -- and let's not forget the Boston Marathon. Its quite appropriate to police the city and major events.

[emu steve]

It is appropriate for some police to be stationed at major public assemblies. Only police can act on certain kinds of crime -- and let's not forget the Boston Marathon. Its quite appropriate to police the city and major events.

I see the same such as a police covering a small foot race [[safety).

My question is: Can they use the junior officers, least paid, etc. at events such as sporting or other events requiring crowd control or street patrol?

Big difference between patrolling say a 5K or 10K foot race and patrolling a high crime area where felons are expected to occur on any given day...

[Wesley Mouch]

I see the same such as a police covering a small foot race [[safety).

My question is: Can they use the junior officers, least paid, etc. at events such as sporting or other events requiring crowd control or street patrol?

Big difference between patrolling say a 5K or 10K foot race and patrolling a high crime area where felons are expected to occur on any given day...

Steve, if I may say without offending...

A lot of armchair quarterbacks have lots of ideas on how things should be done. The truth is that we here don't really know. What I do know is that policing is really hard. It takes years to build a good police force. And the last thing leadership needs is us second-guessing each and every decision they have to make.

Could 'junior officers' handle stadium duty? Sure. Let's pass a rule to require that. They got guns. So what they don't have in experience they can compensate for with their gun. And hey, no senior officers around to say 'hey kid, get your hand off your sidearm, this is just a domestic -- watch me here'.

Ray1936 -- please feel free to weigh in with some real knowledge.

[erikd]

The problem is you don't seem to be getting it. Why are you even bringing up WSU "free policing", if it is indeed "free"? If Midtown residents want to work out a deal to use WSU police, more power to them. The conversation seems to be about crime in the rest of the City and not just in the Utopian part. In fact, I don't see where anyone even suggested taxpayer funds are being diverted to WSU police. DPD IS being used as security guards @ sporting events and even as crossing guards in Midtown while crime is still out of control in other parts of the City where other Detroiters live, without subsidies. It gets a little old reading about how wonderful life is in efin' Midtown.

I'm still trying to understand your point. It seems that you find it unfair that more money being spent on policing the area around the WSU campus, via the funding for the WSUPD from the university. It is true that the WSUPD, like many other universities across the country, provides additional patrols on and around the campus, but I fail to see why that is a problem. Should universities be banned from policing their campuses and surrounding areas? Should universities with police patrols have their state funding cut? Should students who attend such universities be disqualified for student loans? If it is a problem, then what should be done about it?

I understand the frustration of inadequate police patrols and response in the city. We don't have university police in my east side neighborhood either, but I'm not bitter about my fellow Detroiters who do get that benefit in the area around WSU.

[emu steve]

I'm still trying to understand your point. It seems that you find it unfair that more money being spent on policing the area around the WSU campus, via the funding for the WSUPD from the university. It is true that the WSUPD, like many other universities across the country, provides additional patrols on and around the campus, but I fail to see why that is a problem. Should universities be banned from policing their campuses and surrounding areas? Should universities with police patrols have their state funding cut? Should students who attend such universities be disqualified for student loans? If it is a problem, then what should be done about it?

I understand the frustration of inadequate police patrols and response in the city. We don't have university police in my east side neighborhood either, but I'm not bitter about my fellow Detroiters who do get that benefit in the area around WSU.

Indeed case study: EMU.

After the 2013 murder of an EMU football player, off campus, EMU partnered with the city [[Ypsilanti) to increase [[EMU) patrols in areas with off campus housing.

Kudos to both WSU and EMU. "Do what you got to do..."

We've had this discussion on sports forums, but many college campus are in areas with some crime problems. And, college students, being mostly young, tend not to be as careful as older adults when it comes to things like being in areas where they are at risk.

[EastsideAl]

Oh, and as for the original poster, way back when, I actually have a cousin who lived on that last block of Lakewood for many years [[he was transferred to NYC for work a couple of years ago, but still owns the house). That area down by the river has actually become better in the last few years, and there are far fewer problems than there were in the past [[and there never were all that many, it's generally been pretty cool down there). Most people I know down there in that area think it's a very nice place to live.

However, the neighborhood does become a little worse as you go back up towards Jefferson. And the area on the north side of Jefferson, which I believe is included in your crime stat zone, is a different kettle of fish entirely.

[mwilbert]

It's only crazy talk when it's being spent more in one area then another.

Apparently my point was not clear. People regularly talk [[on this forum and everywhere else) about how government spending money doesn't solve problems. Here we have a governmental entity spending money on security, and, remarkably, security in the area where they are spending the money is increased.

Crazy.

[Honky Tonk]

Apparently my point was not clear. People regularly talk [[on this forum and everywhere else) about how government spending money doesn't solve problems. Here we have a governmental entity spending money on security, and, remarkably, security in the area where they are spending the money is increased.

Crazy.

Just what problem is solve? Subsidies and tax breaks to increase a non-tax paying population and business community, @ the expense of the rest of the tax paying populace? All you done is created discontent and alienation. Your right about one thing, that is crazy.

[mwilbert]

Just what problem is solve? Subsidies and tax breaks to increase a non-tax paying population and business community, @ the expense of the rest of the tax paying populace? All you done is created discontent and alienation. Your right about one thing, that is crazy.

I'm sorry, but I don't understand the relationship between your comments and mine, so I'm going to stop now.