Cops prowl Detroit for guns

[ejames01]

I said "Thug" not criminal. And I can absolutely tell. But I'm not sure what hip hop has to do with this.

There is no way in hell you can tell someone is a criminal by how they talk, walk, dress and carry themselves.

Everybody knows your talking about hip hop culture, please dont try to deny it. A good percentage of young black males participate in that culture and they are not criminals.

This is why I have a big problem with suburbanites who have never spent time with black people becoming Detroit cops. I see them all the time searching kids cars, everyone in cuffs, violating these kids rights and then they send them on their way.

[ScienceFair]

A couple years back I was photographing houses along Second St. just south of Highland Park with my silver digital camera. A squad car pulled up behind me and I was told to put my hands up. I explained that it was indeed a camera and not a gun and they said, "ok" and left me alone.

I had nothing to hide and wasn't looking for trouble, maybe looked suspicious, but I had no problem with the cops. These are the same guys that put their life on the line every day in this city, why make their jobs any harder than they already are?

[FerndaleDamon]

Guys, this has been discussed every which way but sunday, ad nauseum. This is not a police issue, but a social/cultural issue. The police need to take an agressive/ pro-active approach, but I think we all know what the "root" cause is. As long as you have a city where the people embrace a hip-hop culture, where you live for today, take what you want & have no regard for life, then NOTHING will change. It ain't rocket science. And it isn't about the money, either. If there is money, it gets pissed away on lottery tickets, trying to get rich quick. The "residents" need to make the change- period. Change always comes from within. If this pisses off certain people, then so be it. Nevermind the p.o.c. bullshit!

[jams]

As long as you have a city where the people embrace a hip-hop culture, where you live for today, take what you want & have no regard for life, then NOTHING will change

Sounds like we live on Wall Street with that explanation.

[cman710]

Guys, this has been discussed every which way but sunday, ad nauseum. This is not a police issue, but a social/cultural issue. The police need to take an agressive/ pro-active approach, but I think we all know what the "root" cause is. As long as you have a city where the people embrace a hip-hop culture, where you live for today, take what you want & have no regard for life, then NOTHING will change. It ain't rocket science. And it isn't about the money, either. If there is money, it gets pissed away on lottery tickets, trying to get rich quick. The "residents" need to make the change- period. Change always comes from within. If this pisses off certain people, then so be it. Nevermind the p.o.c. bullshit!

While this issue is a social and cultural one, it is also a police issue. In the 1990s, crime did not suddenly drop in New York City because people started to parent better and because people suddenly became less predisposed towards crime. Rather, the NYPD's more proactive approach [[1) resulted in more arrests of criminals who may have engaged in a potential violent crime, and [[2) over time, demonstrated the fact that criminals will get caught.

Homicides are down 25% this year in Detroit. Did the culture of the city change in such a short time and so quickly? Nope. The proactive policing has made the difference, by increasing police present in "hot" areas, decreasing the amount of illegal guns on the street, and by deterring potential crime.

One problem in Detroit is that criminals know they will not get caught. Chief Evans has so much as said that he does not have sufficient manpower to address less serious crimes. By taking guns off the street and catching more violent criminals, the police deter all kinds of crimes, but especially violent crimes. Policing really does matter.

[FerndaleDamon]

Yes, cman I agree. It is critically important.

[ejames01]

WTF is a hip-hop culture?

Guys, this has been discussed every which way but sunday, ad nauseum. This is not a police issue, but a social/cultural issue. The police need to take an agressive/ pro-active approach, but I think we all know what the "root" cause is. As long as you have a city where the people embrace a hip-hop culture, where you live for today, take what you want & have no regard for life, then NOTHING will change. It ain't rocket science. And it isn't about the money, either. If there is money, it gets pissed away on lottery tickets, trying to get rich quick. The "residents" need to make the change- period. Change always comes from within. If this pisses off certain people, then so be it. Nevermind the p.o.c. bullshit!

[English]

While this issue is a social and cultural one, it is also a police issue. In the 1990s, crime did not suddenly drop in New York City because people started to parent better and because people suddenly became less predisposed towards crime. Rather, the NYPD's more proactive approach [[1) resulted in more arrests of criminals who may have engaged in a potential violent crime, and [[2) over time, demonstrated the fact that criminals will get caught.

Homicides are down 25% this year in Detroit. Did the culture of the city change in such a short time and so quickly? Nope. The proactive policing has made the difference, by increasing police present in "hot" areas, decreasing the amount of illegal guns on the street, and by deterring potential crime.

One problem in Detroit is that criminals know they will not get caught. Chief Evans has so much as said that he does not have sufficient manpower to address less serious crimes. By taking guns off the street and catching more violent criminals, the police deter all kinds of crimes, but especially violent crimes. Policing really does matter.

What a great post. Thanks for the perspective.

The reduction in homicide is great news. I'm hoping that soon there will be a similar reduction in B&Es and home invasions. In order for that to happen, we need both more police manpower and alternatives for would-be criminals.

[Fnemecek]

So tell us, how you know who the thugs are.

Easy. If he is doing something that is criminal, he is someone that the police should stop and talk to.

[neighbor]

I think the point that needs to be taken away from this story is that people need to know that the police are watching.

Detroit is a haven for crime big and small. Smoking joints out in the open and general disregard for any traffic law are things that need to be enforced and can often turn in to bigger busts.

If enough dummies get busted for carrying a weapon or carrying weed because they got stopped for jaywalking hopefully they will learn not to do anything dumb and if they don't maybe their kid will.

[JBMcB]

FTA:
""What's wrong with the sidewalk?" Sweeney said. The group slowly moved from the middle of Montrose near Westfield in northwest Detroit."

Why do people walk in the middle of the road in Detroit? I don't understand it. I used to see this all the time when I worked in Detroit. I was driving across Greenfield a couple weeks ago and down a sidestreet were three guys walking in the middle of the road. There was a big, well maintained sidewalk on either side, and they were strolling down the center of the street.

[313WX]

This is a wild guess and a stretch, but people probably walk in the middle of the street for safety reasons. They don't know what type of animals the neighbors could have in their yards. or, more ot the point, they don't know what type of people live in these homes and what they could be concealing.

[313WX]

WTF is a hip-hop culture?

I's a term coined up for people [[especially men) who go around EVERYWHERE with a titled baseball cap and/or du-rags, sagging pants where you can see their underwear [[or lack there of) and they go around acting a "gangsta." Well these are the most common tratis anyway...

Other ones are baggy jeans, wife beaters or long t-shirts [[they look like gowns), and they tend to ride around in police interceptors [[ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Maruders, those GMC/Chevrolet trucks from the late 90s, etc.) while blasting some craptacular rap song through loud speaker systems and many of them do mess around with illegal drugs simply because they have nothing better to do or simply need the money. They also have those gigantic [[sometimes spinning) rims on their vehicles.

While it's not just black people either, they do make up the gist of it. I've seen plenty of peoopel from other races doing the same thing now. Much of this actually comes from jail, but it didn't really become popular until gangsta rap debuted in the 1990s.

If anything, it's probably a slick back-handed plot by the white-owned record companies to instill the Jim Crow mentality into the black community & dumb us down again after "over-stepping our bounds" during the liberation movements in the 1960s. again. After all, NONE of the people I see wearing these items look intelligent and well groomed. In addition, majority of them use that silly hip-hop dialect now but can barely speak plain English. Why can't they walk around and strive to be the next Barack Obama or John Johnson?

[dookie joe]

1,500 illegal guns found already... Seems like they know where to look.

But by all means, go back to the status quo. It was working out great.

...because the Detroit Police Department never lies about crime statistics.

[FerndaleDamon]

I think it's a great program- to rid the streets of unregistered guns. It ain't the cure, but it's a positive step in the right direction. If "rights" have to be questioned to prevent a killing- then so be it. That's what I think- how bout you?

[Russix]

I think it's a great program- to rid the streets of unregistered guns. It ain't the cure, but it's a positive step in the right direction. If "rights" have to be questioned to prevent a killing- then so be it. That's what I think- how bout you?

I find it hilarious that it’s so successful. It’s not a violation of rights, it’s more like a gross exploitation on the lack of knowledge of these rights. One only need to present their id card when harassed by the police and direct all interrogation to their lawyer. Any further detainment or searching would be a huge civil liberties lawsuit. But yet these idiots runaway while fully waiving any rights provided by the law. Hey kids, keep your cool, should have stayed in school, The More You Know!

[dookie joe]

Apparently, this big war on crime doesn't include the relatives of high ranking police officials.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100...rother--victim