Godbee: Putting More Officers On Street A Success So Far
DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee said the department is having some success fighting crime by putting more cops on the street and going to 12 hour shifts for officers.
Speaking live on WWJ, Godbee said police are bringing people to justice in that deadly shooting spree last weekend that saw seven people killed and more than 20 wounded. Listen to his entire interview below.
"Five of the seven homicides from that period have been closed or cleared, which means we have four perpetrators in custody relative to four of the homicides, and we have one cleared where we've identified the perpetrator and we're actively seeking him now."
Godbee said the department could add 1,000 officers to patrol, but it wouldn't be enough without the help of the community.
"If you look at some of the nature of those crimes over that period of time, one of the incidents was a man gambling in a location and shots fired and exchanged. That is not a culture that I influence, nor does the police department condone or can set the tone on. But, there are some community norms that we have to change and we have to very forthrightly address."
Godbee said community members have reached out, saying they appreciate the department's honesty in not hiding any facts about the city's crime.
"I've heard a number of community members applauding the fact that we are doing more with less, we're deploying smartly, we're solving crimes. But, I'm hearing outrage about some of the conduct of people in the community that would make a very strong, a very activist community appear that it is out of control."
Listen to Godbee's full interview:
