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Adam Ford
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http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2008/03/flint_police_department_reorga.html
Flint, Michigan -- Mayor Don Williamson this morning announced a major reorganization in the police department, demoting 18 supervisors within the department and putting them back on the streets as patrol officers.
The move comes one day after Williamson also disbanded the Citizens Service Bureau. Those four officers as well as the 18 new demotions will increase the number of patrol officers from 182 to 204.
"The changes in the structure will not result in any layoffs," said personnel director Deidre Pitts, responding to rumors that today's announcement would include layoffs.
Williamson said in a 10 a.m. news conference that the changes were another cost-cutting move for the city, although Budget Director Michael A. Townsend declined to say how much money will be saved.
The city has trimmed 87 full and part-time positions since January to help eliminate a $4 million deficit.
"The changes in the structure will not result in any layoffs," said personnel director Deidre Pitts, responding to rumors that today's announcement would include layoffs.
Williamson also announced a "voluntary day off" policy, where employees would be encouraged to take days off without pay to save the city money.
The demotions announced Friday include reducing the number of captains from three to one, lieutenants from 12 to seven and sergeants from 61 to 50.
Councilman Scott Kincaid said he believes the police department reorganization is a way to reduce personnel.
He said some officers would just retire rather than see their pensions reduced because of the demotions. Kincaid said he suspects anyone who leaves would not be replaced.
"This is a way to force people to retire," Kincaid said.
But Williamson said the changes will also benefit the police department.
"I assure you efficiency will pick up 2,000 percent," Williamson said. "They'll spend less time in the coffee shops and less time complaining and more time working."
Acting police chief Gary Hagler was not present for this morning's news conference.
Williamson said more experienced officers on the streets will better serve the public.
"The trend of reduction in crime can continue to be aggressively addressed, the success of which is seen in the drastically reduced homicides and other serious crimes throughout the city," Williamson said. |
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Fri Mar 28, 2008 12:24 pm |
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Ryan Eashoo
F L I N T O I D
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See another example of the Mayor putting more officers on the street! I applaud his efforts!
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_________________
Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:26 am |
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Bossman
F L I N T O I D
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| This will be great as long as your not a victim of crime. Now there will be less detectives to investigate victims complaints. Good luck! |
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Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:39 pm |
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Ted Jankowski
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quote:
Ryan Eashoo schreef:
See another example of the Mayor putting more officers on the street! I applaud his efforts!
I know you have got to be saying this sarcasitically. LOL LOL |
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Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:53 pm |
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Ryan Eashoo
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Bossman no offense but the city of flint investigators are a joke. Everytime something happens they never investigate.. Try getting finger prints for a theft! The city of flint has been known to be laxed in this area for 20 years.
quote:
Bossman schreef:
This will be great as long as your not a victim of crime. Now there will be less detectives to investigate victims complaints. Good luck!
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:27 pm |
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Bossman
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[quote="Ryan Eashoo"][b]
Bossman no offense but the city of flint investigators are a joke. Everytime something happens they never investigate.. Try getting finger prints for a theft! The city of flint has been known to be laxed in this area for 20 years.[/b]
[quote="Bossman"]This will be great as long as your not a victim of crime. Now there will be less detectives to investigate victims complaints. Good luck![/quote][/quote]
Ryan, you can't offend me. If that's your perception then so be it. However, I believe you should attempt to educate yourself better on the procedures and principles behind fingerprinting. Fingerprints collected from any scene are of no value if you have nothing to compare them to. Also, most of the time officers are sent to the scene of a crime the area has already been contaminated. It would require long hours to eliminate the victims and their associates fingerprints before anyone could even begin to concentrate on the suspects. |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:22 pm |
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00SL2
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quote:
Ryan Eashoo schreef:
... the city of flint investigators are a joke. Everytime something happens they never investigate.. Try getting finger prints for a theft! The city of flint has been known to be laxed in this area for 20 years.
Ryan, a rash of B&Es on the west side recently was no joking matter to the victims or the many police officers who worked on the cases. Thanks to the officers who came to speak at our community group, the watchful eyes of citizens, and the dedication and determination of officers of the Flint Police Department, several suspects have been arrested and convicted, and others have been charged. The B&Es since then have also been reduced. We are very thankful for the support and dedication of these officers in solving these crimes.
It is no small matter that a citizen reported a B&E in progress, with details helpful in catching those particular perpetrators. There are other persons of interest we're all keeping a watchful eye out for as well. The Flint Police Department deserves the support and assistance of the entire Flint community. |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:28 pm |
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Dave Starr
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| That's what needs to be done everywhere. people have to get past their fear of retaliation or being called a snitch & speak up. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:30 pm |
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Ted Jankowski
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Bossman, I believe Ryan does have a point. While you can say investigators have no one to compare it too. One would have to ask why they don't? Don't we have all our finger prints computerized? And if no one is even taking any fingerprints. Sure, who would you compare nothing too? They have not created a database of prints to even look?
Also, another factor. You know as well as i do. That the majority of Pawn shop customers have a criminal record of some type. If Flint used a real Pawnshop reproting system with a fingerprint database. That would be one simple place to check for stolen property. But again, if we are not fingerprinting crime sceens. What do we have to compare these prints too?
Also, You are correct. by the time they get around to sending out a detective to even do fingerprinting. The are is compeltely contaminated and not worth the effort. The Criminals prints have been covered up. Such as when the "CHICKEN AFFAIR"was broken into a few years back. I was there two days after it happened with the detective showed up to do finger printing. AHHHh the business had been doing business for two days from when the break in happened. That was a compelte waste of time.
But, it doesn't have to be that way. In smaller Departments such asMundy Township. If there is a group of break ins. The Officer that is on the screen is required to do fingerprinting immediately. Not the next day, not two days later. The day of the break in. Once he is on the scene and has completed his interviews with the vitcims and witnesses if there are any. They begin the investigation immediately. Kind of difficult to investgate the crimes in Flint when those that run the department try to manage crime invetigations like a doctors office!
Hey also, is there a way I can get some pictures of the Crime Boards on the Back wall at the detectives buearu? IS that something I can FOIA or should I just stop in and take a picture?
We should have the ability to do exactly what I've laid out above. WHY? Because it is effective at fighting crime. There is already a pawnshop reporting system in use in both Lansing & Mount Pleasant. Numerous communities across Michigan are rewriting their local ordinances to compel pawnshops to report their transactions electronically. www.bwiusa.com Electronic transmittal and publication of items in pawnshops could be seen as a benefit to the pawnshop owners and citizens alike. Although I don't believe this is the best system. It does work. With having this information available in a central location for a city. It could almost act as a public storefront on the web. Not only is the information available to the Police. But, citizens looking to purchaser such items would know where to go to find them. Further discussion of this personally would be necessary to show benefits.
Benefits of improved monitoring have already shown themselves through increased recovery and apprehension. Murray (1996), for example, reports that police in Atlanta, Georgia, entered only 25 percent of transaction data in 1996. A year later, after installation of a computer system with electronic data transfer from brokers, police entered 100 percent of pawn information, reduced processing time from several weeks to 24 hours and increased recovery rates from 12 to 42 items per month (Murray, 1997). In Florida, similarly, Perez (2000) reports a rise in recovery after the Broward County Sheriff established an automated pawn tracking database. The new system also helped catch 175 parole violators and 110 felons pawning firearms in 1998. By 2000, some 50 state and local agencies were using similar tracking systems, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) which initiated a project to install a statewide database in that year.
In addition to property recovery and apprehension of criminals, there is also the prospect of using transaction data to map suspicious behavior in “real” time. People pawning twenty diamond rings or watches or electric tools or city street directories or anything else of value within a relatively short period, especially if encumbered with interesting criminal histories, earn immediate suspicion of stealing or of receiving hot goods. If the items are not reported stolen or if they lack markings, then arrest is not possible. But it is possible to conduct surveillance to determine whether initial suspicions are justified, whether there are networks of accomplices warranting police attention, or whether there are other ways to identify and maybe apprehend these or other thieves.
IT has worked all over the country. Benefits of improved monitoring have already shown themselves through increased recovery and apprehension. Murray (1996), for example, reports that police in Atlanta, Georgia, entered only 25 percent of transaction data in 1996. A year later, after installation of a computer system with electronic data transfer from brokers, police entered 100 percent of pawn information, reduced processing time from several weeks to 24 hours and increased recovery rates from 12 to 42 items per month (Murray, 1997). In Florida, similarly, Perez (2000) reports a rise in recovery after the Broward County Sheriff established an automated pawn tracking database. The new system also helped catch 175 parole violators and 110 felons pawning firearms in 1998. By 2000, some 50 state and local agencies were using similar tracking systems, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) which initiated a project to install a statewide database in that year.
If Flint doesn't have a way of tracking Fingerprints and running computer comparisons, and doesn't have a way of easily tracking Pawnshop items and who is bringing them in. The Police will continue to waste valuable time running in cirlces trying to use long, slow and laborious methods of catching criminals. That don't seem worth the effort. I can understand how officers become disheartend with the progress. Then now we a Mayor, who believes himself to be the Police Chief, that hates police! And underminds their authority, an their jobs on a daily basis!
God Help us all! |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:02 pm |
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00SL2
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Ted, are you aware of this?
446.205 Record of property received; contents; inspection; form of permanent record.
http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-446-205
Excerpt: "The pawnbroker shall retain a record of each transaction and, within 48 hours after the property is received, shall send 1 copy of the record of transaction to the local police agency." |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:23 pm |
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Ted Jankowski
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Yes, I am aware of it.
The key is how is the information retained, and used?
It's one thing to have piles of 3x5 cards in shoe boxes of all the stuff in the pawn shops. It's another to have that information available in a Database with searchable fields that can be automated to search for items that were stolen from the night before from police reports filed.
Hopefully, I've painted the picture properly so you can see what I'm saying.
Sure all that information is available at the police station. But, if it takes days and weeks to make it usable data to be used to solve any case.
Same arguement (that I see) with why police don't use/do fingerprints. We have not built any type of data base to compare them to. If the system was automated. It should be automated to check all prints on file in the jail and county jail. Considering, that the majority of Crimes are committed by a small portion of the population. It would stand to reason. That if we were taking prints and didn't have anyone to verify them to today. Doesn't mean we won't in 6 months or even a year. Police will get lucky eventually and arrest them. Mostly because, Criminals don't just stay with one crime. They develope and try new things. One day it's breaking into cars, then when they think they've mastered that. They graduate to breaking into houses. If they are not caught. They will think they can get away with anything. Eventually, snatching purses or knocking off party stores. It's rare to get a felon convicted who hasn't committed hundred of crimes the year before that they had never even been caught at. But, because Police I didn't want to be bothered with such nuesense crimes. Like Stealing Aluminum siding, or tires off cars, etc. Besides, we've got brilliant Political leaders in Flint that would rather attack the businesses like the Junk Yards. Instead of catching the criminal. |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:13 pm |
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Demeralda
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The question people SHOULD be asking is if it was so easy to disband it, and it's suddenly SO necessary, why did he create the f'ing Citizens Bureau in the first place?
Again, RASH actions with no information. I truly believe it has nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with forcing out those officers. Of course, I can't understand why any department needs three captains to begin with... |
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Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:59 pm |
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twotap
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Of course, I can't understand why any department needs three captains to begin with...
[/b] |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:11 pm |
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Dave Starr
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| Shift commanders, one per shift?? |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:06 pm |
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Demeralda
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Did I miss something there, twotap?
As for the captain situation, I know not. Fortunately, I'm not a city hall "insider"... |
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Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:57 pm |
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