CRIME

"Before the size of the (police) force is decided, the city's overall mission must be clearly defined."

The issue of crime has plagued our community for a number of years. Crime is one of the main reasons so many residents make the decision to leave our city every year. The Detroit Police Department works extremely hard and constantly engages in law enforcement initiatives that attempt to address the rising crime problem in the city, but they are simply undermanned. The Obama Administration is making available up to $1 billion in grant funding for police departments around the country to hire and retain police officers. Detroit is sure to be awarded a percentage that funding and while increasing the number of police officers on our beleaguered force would be enthusiastically welcomed by all, a manpower surge doesn't begin to deal with root of criminality. Before the size of the force is decided, the city's overall mission must be clearly defined. Is the objective to merely arrest and punish those who commit crimes or is the goal to reduce the number of individuals who commit crimes? It has been said many times before, `the police cannot do it alone.' Though the phrase "the community and the police" is often used, we all must understand that the police are a part of the community.

"The offender of tomorrow is often the at-risk child of today whose needs are not being addressed."

As a society we have failed to address the source of what leads to criminality. Many believe that crime is driven by a poor economy. While this is partially true, criminal behavior is triggered by a variety of societal and personal pressures that cannot be explained by any single factor. Poor parenting, social environment, substance abuse, education deficiency, peer influence, as well as economic disadvantage and unemployment are just some of the underlying issues that lead an individual to crime. While some people fall into an underworld of criminal activity as a result of these issues, others build honest and successful lives for themselves despite the same experiences.

After a close review of our current status, it is clear that we simply can not "arrest" ourselves out of our current crime problem. There must be a comprehensive change in the mindset of the people. To achieve any sustainable reduction in crime, our elected officials must engage in an aggressive plan to identify and promote social service programs that provide meaningful assistance for families in need. This is especially critical to those families with children to prevent the youth from growing up being/feeling neglected. The offender of tomorrow is often the at-risk child of today whose needs are not being addressed.

There are dozens of social service agencies in Detroit that provide much needed support to our residents everyday. But too often they find themselves competing with each another or not having the ability to reach the masses of people who need their assistance. Many people are truly unaware that actual help is out there and they feel hopeless. It is the job of our city leaders to have the vision to recognize the need to combine the efforts and areas of expertise of the many social service organizations in our area and promote their availability. Our elected officials must possess the ability to influence these agencies to work in a collective manner which also helps keep expenses down in a world of limited funding.

"If we want a safer Detroit, we have to address the challenge many neighborhoods face with respect to persons who are coming out of prison and going back to the community."

Many crimes are committed by those who feel that their option to live a legitimate lifestyle is out of reach. In no other segment of our population is this feeling more widespread than with our residents who have been previously incarcerated. If we want a safer Detroit, we have to address the challenge many neighborhoods face with respect to persons who are coming out of prison and going back to the community. Housing, transportation, substance abuse, mental illness, lack of education and training are all primary barriers for many ex-offenders as they return to our community. Ex-offenders also face a relentless uphill battle when it comes to seeking employment. Many employers are not willing to hire people who have served prison terms, regardless of the circumstances of an individual's crime, sentence, rehabilitation or skills. Each year, over 11,000 inmates are released from Michigan's prisons. Nearly half will return to prison within two years and cost the state $112 million dollars per year. In fact, of the 8,400 parolees released to Wayne County during 2006-2007, 6,400 re-located in Detroit neighborhoods. Because of the efforts of programs such as the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (MPRI), thousands of ex-offenders are receiving the necessary assistance to help facilitate a more successful integration back into society. City leaders must take a more active role in connecting with community resources which serve as a central component of successful re-entry. There must be a dedicating focus on developing strategies that enable ex-offenders to successfully complete parole and become long-term productive citizens within the community. Job skills training along with employment assistance, substance abuse treatments, housing, mentoring, and additional social services all help break the cycle of repeat offending and probation/parole violations. A comprehensive effort should include provisions to create individualized re-entry plans that would be tailored to each parolee's specific life situation and identify potential difficulties he/she faces in re-entering society and agencies that can provide assistance.

The city also has to set the tone for those ex-offenders who are released and continue to victimize our residents as well as any individual who chooses to blatantly disregard the law. In 2004, the residents of Detroit approved $72 million in bonds to improve or develop the city's public safety facilities. A portion of those dollars were to be earmarked to build a stand alone holding facility. This type of facility would alleviate the crunch that the men and women at our police precinct/district stations feel on a daily basis. Our officers are routinely forced to make tough decisions about ticketing, releasing or warning offenders for arrestable offenses because of the scarce available jail space. A punitive action such as jailing is the most responsible alternative in protecting the community from persons who reject existing social service assistance and disregard the safety of others by harming them.