The surge in crime and the influx of visitors to Detroit’s downtown core garnered the attention of the Detroit Police Department (DPD), catching them somewhat off guard.
James White, Chief of Police for the Detroit Police Department, said: “We were caught somewhat flat-footed right out the gate. By design we went into the spring deployment, which is less than the mid-summer deployment, and saw we say an uptick in violence that first warm weekend.”
Chief White attributes the violence in Greektown to a combination of weather conditions and a surge in population.
He explained, ” We saw numbers downtown that we have not seen, ever. People are emerging from COVID and there’s a feeling that we’re in a post-COVID era…and with the venues downtown and the reasons to come down with all the activities that are going on, we saw hundreds of more people and, in particularly, young folks, teenagers that we hadn’t seen.”
Responding swiftly to the surge in violence, DPD adjusted its deployment plans. Rather than waiting for mid-summer, they deployed officers in the spring itself to address the situation.
Chief White visited Michigan Chronicle’s STUDIO 1452 to address several issues; Watch the full interview, below.
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