DETROIT (WWJ) – Detroit police officials are already stepping up efforts to combat violence across the city after a bloody weekend downtown saw two people killed and several others injured.
Police Chief James White and Mayor Mike Duggan on Monday said the Detroit Police Department will be immediately going to full “midsummer staffing numbers.”
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“We’re gonna do everything we can, but people gotta make better decisions,” White said during a Monday press conference to detail the weekend’s events and discuss some of the strategies the department will roll out to keep Detroiters safe.
By implementing summer staffing numbers now, the department will have more officers on the streets. White also said police will put an emphasis on enforcing the city’s curfew for minors, crowd control, open container laws, noise levels and more.
"We've got a very detailed strategy, without giving it away, and I'm very confident that Detroit will be a very welcoming downtown area," White said.
White said they’ll be using “good old fashioned patrol” – which worked in making several arrests this weekend – but will also be utilizing other strategies, including “eagle eye” towers to see the Greektown area from above and undercover techniques.
“I don’t wanna get too specific, because that’s counterintuitive, but we do some things in the crowds, in plainclothes where we’re identifying people who may have some nefarious intentions and not just to be downtown and have a good time,” White said.
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He said the department will look to build on a “very successful summer” in 2022 when it rolled out a five-point plan that focused on reducing crime, including crowd management.
While this weekend’s downtown crimes didn’t involve any minors, White and Duggan emphasized that police will be enforcing the curfew – 10 p.m. for those 15 and under and 11 p.m. for 16- and 17-year-olds, lasting until 6 a.m. – and cracking down on unsupervised minors.
Duggan said “we’re going to need help from the parents of this community.”
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