BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF AND WENDY WENDLAND-BOWYER, Detroit Free Press
Detroiters will see a greater police presence in the wake of a recent spate of violence, as State Police and Detroit Police revealed stepped-up patrols.
Beginning Monday, Detroit Police will lengthen patrol officers’ shifts from eight to 12 hours to increase the number of Detroit officers on the road at any given time and to increase public safety.
“I’m a firm believer that increased visibility is a great deterrent to crime,” Assistant Chief Walter Shoulders said in announcing the longer shifts late Friday.
He declined to say how long the lengthened shifts would continue.
Meanwhile, eight Michigan State Police troopers began working afternoon shifts in Detroit as part of an agreement between the city and Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Granholm, said the state police patrols began Feb. 12 after Granholm and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick met to discuss how the state could help the city after a spate of 35 homicides in January. The troopers are on patrol in vehicles and remain under the authority of the State Police.
After a month of patrols the State Police detail will be re-evaluated, Boyd said.
Shoulders said the longer patrol shifts have been in the works for the past several weeks. He said it was not related to the city’s particularly violent week, which included the shooting deaths of two police officers and the slaying of one Guardian Armed Security guard.
Ron Scott, spokesman for the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, said while the added State Police presence won’t hurt, a “military” response won’t resolve Detroit’s crime problems.
“Eight state troopers are not going to make or break anything,” Scott said. “It almost seems like a political response rather than a crime response.”
He added, “There have been 17,000 people killed in Detroit in the past 30 years, and we get one spike in homicides and everyone reacts. You need a more comprehensive solution than just police. You need to address the economic, social, and community deterioration, the elimination of values.”
The State Police already has a permanent Detroit post with 56 troopers working three shifts. It has another 15 undercover officers in the city to work on violent crime cases with federal agencies, Boyd said.