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DPD
and
Criminal
Sociologist
Launch
'Community
Policing
Initiative'
DETROIT
(Tel Us
Det) -
Detroit
Police
Chief
Ralph L.
Godbee,
Jr. and
George
Kelling,
Ph.D.,
renowned
national
criminologist
and
author
of
Fixing
Broken
Windows:
Restoring
Order
and
Reducing
Crime in
Our
Communities,
held a
press
conference
to
discuss
a pilot
program
to
identify
and
reduce
crime.
They
were joined
by law
enforcement
officials
and
community
representatives
to
discuss
the
steps
being
taken to
prevent
crime
Starting
in June,
Rosedale
Park
will get
the
“broken
windows”
initiative
– the
theory
of
attacking
small
crimes
to wane
down the
big
crimes.
It comes
from the
Manhattan
Institute
and has
been
used to
turn
around
crime
rates in
New
York’s
subway
system
and
Times
Square.
There
have
been 8
homicides
and 33
nonfatal
shootings
in
Detroit
over the
past
five
days,
and
Detroit
Police
Chief
Ralph
Godbee
acknowledged
today
that
those
numbers
are
higher
than
normal.
"We're
swimming
upstream
from a
violent
crime
standpoint,"
Godbee
said.
"As
quickly
as we
arrest
(criminals),
someone
commits
another
crime."
Angelo
Henderson,
co-founder
of the
citizen
watchdog
group
Detroit
300,
which
was
formed
two
years
ago
after
senior
citizens
were
assaulted
and
raped
inside
their
homes,
said his
group's
ranks
have
swelled
because
residents
are fed
up with
crime.
"It's
unreal
what's
happening
out
there in
the
streets;
absolutely
unreal,"
said
Henderson,
whose
group
regularly
patrols
the
city.
"Crimes
are
increasing
our
numbers,
but we'd
rather
live in
a safe
place
and not
have to
deal
with
this.
But
people
are
looking
for
options,
and
they're
turning
to the
Detroit
300."
Godbee
said the
initiative
will be
in a
90-day
testing
period.
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