In an effort to allay fears about when Detroit Police stations will be open to the public, Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. officially unveiled a "virtual precinct plan" Monday.
Members of the Detroit Police Department joined Godbee at the Northeastern District station as he discussed the plan that will be implemented Monday, when residents wanting to report nonemergency incidents between 4 p.m.-8 a.m. will be directed to call a special phone number. Godbee stressed that all precincts will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but officers will not take nonemergency reports during off hours.
Godbee said the goal of Monday's news conference was to educate the public about when to call 911 for an emergency and when to call the Telephone Crime Reporting Unit to file a report for nonemergency incidents.
"Our purpose is to apprise the public about what to expect once the new system is implemented and to be able to service them in a more expeditious way," Godbee said. "We also want to allay any fears that their districts will be closed. Nothing could be further from the truth."
Godbee said the goal of the TCRU is to reduce police responses to situations that do not require the immediate presence of an officer, allowing them to engage in proactive police activities and permitting them to be available to respond to true emergencies. Between 120-150 extra police officers will be available to be redeployed once the system is implemented, Godbee said.
The City of Detroit received nearly 1.5 million 911 calls or about 4,400 each day in 2011, and about 80% of those calls were police related, Godbee said.
"We must make better use of public safety resources by only responding to real emergencies," he said.
Although some residents and community leaders have voiced concerns about the changes, one Detroit resident said she felt optimistic about the plan.
Detroit resident Kimberly Jackson, 44, is president of the Northeast Detroit Police Community Relations, a volunteer group that deals with citizen concerns involving the police department.
"At first I was very concerned and skeptical but I feel a lot better knowing that we'll have more police officers on the streets and a much faster response time," said Jackson. She has worked with the organization for two and a half years.
"All in all, the announcement of the change was quite a shocker, but now I believe we're going to find out that change is good," she said.
Copyright 2012 - Detroit Free Press
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
