Detroit Chief Testifies on Violence and Children

April 24--Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr., testifying before members of the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence today in Detroit, said the city has implemented programs that make it safer for students to walk to school and seek alternatives to suspensions and expulsions.

During truancy sweeps, officials have found that some young people were skipping school because they were homeless, their parents were incarcerated or because their home didn't have running water or electricity. They were embarrassed, Godbee said, and didn't want to come to school in dirty clothes or without showering. Young people, he said, were provided with social service resources.

As well, he said the police department also has a strong enforcement response and focuses on offender re-entry, which impacts recidivism.

Today's hearing is the last of four the task force has held nationwide.

The task force was commissioned by Attorney General Eric Holder to examine children's exposure to violence through four national hearings. Task force members hear from experts and community members.

Based on information the task force gathers from these hearings, it will present findings to Holder and make policy recommendations. A report will be published later this year.

The task force is part of Defending Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative launched by Holder in 2010.

Violence, officials said during today's hearing, impacts children emotionally, psychologically and developmentally.

"A child's first encounter with violence can be the beginning of a lifetime of trouble," Mary Lou Leary, acting assistant attorney general for the Office of Justice Programs, said.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade said Michigan has four of the most violent communities in America -- Detroit, Pontiac, Flint and Saginaw.

"Too often we see the children are the victims of the violence," she said.

Sometimes, they are also the perpetrators, McQuade said.

After testifying, Godbee said one of the biggest problems is the accessibility of guns, particularly high-powered weapons.

In February, 9-month-old Delric Miller IV was killed when bullets from an assault rifle ripped through his home as he slept on a couch.

January, 12-year-old Kade'jah Davis was fatally shot, reportedly during a dispute involving a cell phone. Joshua Brown, 19, is facing charges in the shooting, including first-degree murder.

Also this year in Detroit, a 6-year-old boy was injured after being shot in an attempted carjacking, a 2-year-old was struck by a bullet outside his home and a 12-year-old boy was shot in the arm while playing basketball.

As of April 8, there had been 93 homicides in Detroit, three fewer than the same time in 2011, according to police department statistics.

Copyright 2012 - Detroit Free Press