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Why Are the Jail Cells Empty?

More news stories on Crime

Jeff Gerritt, Detroit Free Press, May 28, 2009

Empty jail cells are normally something to celebrate, but Wayne County’s top law enforcement officials say the hundreds of vacant jail beds are not because of a drop in crime or more reasonable sentencing. Floors of the downtown Detroit jail are empty because police are arresting fewer people accused of those crimes.

Altogether, three county jails that held about 2,500 prisoners a year ago now house 400 fewer inmates.

Sheriff Warren Evans said police are so slow to respond to some calls that the crimes never get reported. Prosecutor Kym Worthy was more blunt:

{snip}

Detroit has lost hundreds of sworn officers in recent years. The Police Department didn’t respond to repeated requests for interviews with its top leaders, but it released preliminary statistics showing an overall decline in criminal activity this year, despite a 24% increase in homicides.

{snip}

Empty cells point to police breakdown

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The seventh floor of the Baird Detention Facility, normally home to 128 newly arrested prisoners, is vacant. So are the ninth floor and half of the 12th floor. Another 128 beds at the Dickerson Detention Facility in Hamtramck are also closed. That adds up to more than 400 empty beds in Wayne County jails that, up to about a year ago, were filled with roughly 2,500 prisoners.

The main explanation is simple, according to the county’s top two law enforcement officials: Detroit police are making fewer arrests, a dereliction so obvious it has led some Detroiters to conclude there’s no point in even calling the cops.

“I’ve talked to dozens, probably hundreds, of people in the community who are telling me they never made a report because the police never came,” Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said Tuesday. “The delay in response time is such that many, many, many crimes don’t get reported.”

{snip}

“We tell the press that crime is going down,” Worthy [Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy] said. “It’s not going down; it’s going up, exponentially, and we have many fewer officers on the street. We need to acknowledge the problem.”

The Detroit Police Department did not respond to several requests for comment last week. Instead, a department spokeswoman, citing preliminary police statistics, said overall crime in the city so far this year is down 9.1%, excluding a 24% increase in homicides—a trend that, if true, would partly explain the jail’s decreasing census, especially for those awaiting trial.

In 2007, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department recorded 20,423 felony bookings. Last year, there were just 18,261—a drop of more than 10% in a single year. So far this year, bookings have continued to drop roughly 10%, said Undersheriff Daniel Pfannes.

{snip}

Neither Oakland nor Macomb Counties report comparable declines in their own jail populations. Both counties’ cells remain full, despite innovative efforts to manage the population, Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel and Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe say.

Pontiac, however, is experiencing a trend similar to Detroit’s: Arrests have declined as the number of sworn officers has dropped from 170 to 65 in the last three years.

{snip}

Even serious crimes aren’t getting solved. Arrests are made in only 37% of Detroit homicides, compared to more than 60% nationwide. Officers have too little time to investigate, and they work with a community that often does not trust them. Detroit’s shuttered police crime lab has raised more troubling questions about homicide investigations.

Another reason arrests are down is the closing—for good cause—of many decrepit, pre-arraignment holding cells under a federal consent decree that is mandating reforms. Six years ago, police held 350 in such lockups, compared to about 130 today. Shift supervisors, and probably officers, know when the lockups are full.

{snip}

Privately, some law enforcement officials also say Detroit police are frustrated by the added paperwork required for arrests under the federal consent decree. {snip}

Fundamental breakdowns in other basic services also decrease public safety. Copper thieves have made land-line phone service in parts of the city, especially on the east side, unreliable and sporadic. It’s not unusual for phone lines to be dead when crime victims try to call 911.

{snip}

Original article

Email Jeff Gerritt at gerritt@freepress.com.

(Posted on May 29, 2009)

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Comments

1 — Question Diversity wrote at 5:49 PM on May 29:

Another reason is that Detroit the city proper is so heavily black that I’m sure there is racial and other kinds of favoritism shown by the city’s black cops toward black criminal suspects.

2 — Sonny wrote at 6:21 PM on May 29:

If I did not know that this was in America, I would immediately assume that it was in some third world country. Police officers are human, the same as everyone else, when they get frustrated due to lack of community support and support from other agencies, this is what you wind up with.

3 — joe wrote at 6:39 PM on May 29:

National Guard is the word.
I think martial law is the only law blacks understand. Civil law and judicial proceedings are too complicated. A relative of mine visited the Caribbean “paradise” of St Kitts, and told me that in the center of a town was a stockade with a sign that read “Gun Court”. Plainly visible in the center of the stockade was a gallows. This is the type of justice blacks understand and would prefer as the norm, I’m quite sure.

4 — Anonymous wrote at 6:58 PM on May 29:

That’s interesting, with few police, the number of arrests and imprisoned citizens goes down. Bill Clinton greatly expanded the number of officers on the street. More adn more police just mean more and more actual arrests. I wonder what the point would be, where the highering of more police officers would make the number of arrests go down? We could pay less tax and reduce the number of police officers. Citizens would be alarmed about the murder rate though. Too many black men being killed. Perhaps we could have a special police force that only investigates murders.

5 — Anonymous wrote at 7:21 PM on May 29:

Detroit? That says it all. There is a push by the Obama administration to not arrest or file charges against black criminals and assorted minorities. That’s racist, you see. This WILL come down the pike. Wait and see. Total breakdown of law and order and a once civilized nation. What can you expect when the country is inundated with nonwhites who we all know commit the overwhelming number of all crimes. A banana republic on the horizon.

6 — jewamongyou wrote at 7:24 PM on May 29:

In order to dramatize the crisis, Hollywood will be producing a film where white skinheads beat up and murder a hardworking young black man in Detroit. Then they steal the copper from the land lines so that the family couldn’t call the cops. As usual, all whity’s fault.

7 — ranger wrote at 7:25 PM on May 29:

Are you like me and believe that the black Obama administration by refusing to prosecute black panthers for threats and harassments and racial slurs is going exactly the way of Detroit, Zimbabwe, Haiti, South Africa and other black run societies?

Has a black run government EVER worked?

Be prepared. This one will be like all the rest.

8 — Anonymous wrote at 7:36 PM on May 29:

Newt Gingrich stated on Fox News that Obama’s policies will turn the rest of the country into the city of Detroit. We see what black leaders did to Detroit. Can we expect the same results with Obama doing this to the country. The article states that agencies in Michigan have programs available that can target who is commiting those crimes. You don’t need a program to tell you who the criminals are. They are young black males, period. But to target them, you would be “racially profiling” so we can’t do that. What’s a police dept. to do.

9 — Tim in Indiana wrote at 8:06 PM on May 29:

Fundamental breakdowns in other basic services also decrease public safety. Copper thieves have made land-line phone service in parts of the city, especially on the east side, unreliable and sporadic. It’s not unusual for phone lines to be dead when crime victims try to call 911.

The utter insanity of claiming that crime is “down” or is somehow being “managed,” while at the same time thieves are stealing away the basic trappings of civilization, is something that could only occur in a sick society. Jared Taylor was right when he wrote that when blacks entirely take over, civilization—any kind of civilization—disappears

10 — Question Diversity wrote at 8:47 PM on May 29:

Anonymous:

Newt Gingrich is right, but this is the same Newt Gingrich that was Speaker of the House from January 1995 to November 1998. He certainly did nothing on his own part and with his own power to prevent the “Detroitization” of America. As I remember, he engineered the dispossession of a Republican Congressman elected in 1994, Charles Canady, from Florida, because Canady pushed hard to get rid of affirmative action. Canady resigned from the House in disgust.

11 — flyingtiger wrote at 1:01 AM on May 30:

Wow! I thought only Chicago had these problems. Our police do not like answering calls. Here in Chi-town we have many murders and shootings, so they are hard to hide. Our Black loving mayor is trying. He got the city to forget the airport he tore up.

12 — Anonymous wrote at 8:02 AM on May 30:

“Newt Gingrich stated on Fox News that Obama’s policies will turn the rest of the country into the city of Detroit. We see what black leaders did to Detroit.”

Yeah, you’d think more black politicians would draw a different lesson from looking at cities like Detroit. It’s just easier to go with the flow and do what is considered proper and progressive, however. Then again, maybe the most important lesson the City of Detroit holds for them is that it’s almost all black. Now there’s some learning they can get behind and be proud of.

13 — GunStore wrote at 4:44 PM on May 30:

For years I have listened to “Black Leaders” insist that “White Mans Law” is not for the black man. That only a black system of law with black police officers and black judges would give the black community “Justice”.

Detroit is just one of several Western cities to fall to this delusion. Zimbabwe and South Africa are examples where entire countries have followed this idea, where Western ways of Science, Law, Technology, Art, History have been abandoned. Detroit now looks and acts like Zimbabwe.

14 — Anonymous wrote at 4:52 PM on May 30:

This is called “de-policing” and its not unique to Detroit. Anywhere where there is a majority Black population the white police are inhibited by fear of race hustlers and the black police officers are either corrupt or afraid to enforce the laws. Then Black “leaders” whine and complain about how whitey is failing to stop crime in their “communities.” Black on black crime in the USA is the white mans fault for not policing their hovels. Black on Black mass murder in Africa is Europe and North America’s fault for not intervening.

15 — Svigor wrote at 5:44 PM on May 30:

The Detroit Police Department did not respond to several requests for comment last week. Instead, a department spokeswoman, citing preliminary police statistics, said overall crime in the city so far this year is down 9.1%, excluding a 24% increase in homicides—a trend that, if true, would partly explain the jail’s decreasing census, especially for those awaiting trial.


This is THE de-policing red flag. It’s absurd on its face, for one thing - even if you buy the story, who wants to go to a place where crime is down 9% “except for pesky lil’ murders which are up an insignificant 24%”?

But everyone familiar with race and crime knows that murder is the one crime that is almost impossible to hide in a statistical sense in anything approaching a first world country because you’ve got a body to deal with. Assault? Who cares? Black eyes heal. Robbery? Who cares? Wallet’s full again next payday. Rape? Who cares? Damage, if any, is gone in days. Death is permanent so homicides are almost impossible to hide on a statistical level.

This piece reads like the plot of Robocop (good thing Hollywood has casting directors to handle the unpleasant details, no? “Based on a true story,”)

16 — Svigor wrote at 6:48 PM on May 30:

Maybe Detroit could raise revenue by turning its neighborhoods into one big reality show. Web cams on every corner. Web surfers would pay to watch live streaming video of Somalia-on-the-Detroit. Ratings would increase along with the violence and mayhem. Think of the marketing possibilities! Detroilet brand microwave popcorn.

17 — Question Diversity wrote at 7:18 PM on May 30:

Svigor:

Homicides are also swept under the rug. There are many ways to fudge around with reality to reduce your city’s murder rate if you’re the beancounting authorities. You “fudge” the numbers down when you want dorkey white yuppies to move into your city to “gentrify” it, i.e. provide at tax base and enough smart white kids to boost up the city school system’s test score averages. But you “fudge” the same numbers upwards when you want Federal money, tax increases to build “community centers” (i.e. gang hideouts) and “gun control” based on all this crime that they told us last week wasn’t so bad.

18 — Wild Eyed Charlie wrote at 8:50 PM on May 30:

“If I did not know that this was in America, I would immediately assume that it was in some third world country. Police officers are human, the same as everyone else, when they get frustrated due to lack of community support and support from other agencies, this is what you wind up with.

Posted by Sonny at 6:21 PM on May 29”

Out here in the People’s Demokratik Kalifornia Republik, there is currently a move afoot to reduce “excessive” pensions paid to police officers and firefighters. Coupled with our budget deficit (which nobody can seem to agree on), they’ll probably try a pay cut when our contracts expire. Qualified, motivated candidates will go elsewhere; the dregs will step forward to fill the vacancies caused by retirements, fleeing the state, etc. I’ll be long gone from the state by then, but drivers will be carrying a folded bill behind your driver’s license, like they do in some big Eastern cities. And it better not be a $10, either.

“Look for the first instance of a police officer who cannot speak English.” Thomas Chittum

19 — Anonymous wrote at 11:27 AM on May 31:

“Assault? Who cares? Black eyes heal. Robbery? Who cares? Wallet’s full again next payday. Rape? Who cares? Damage, if any, is gone in days. Death is permanent so homicides are almost impossible to hide on a statistical level.”

There are a lot of maimed and disabled people in this country too, but I don’t think they are talking too each other.

20 — SKIP wrote at 11:31 AM on May 31:

Homicides are also swept under the rug.

Very true. In L.A. in my past life I personally knew of several murder victims that were simply picked up by the county coronor. No questions were asked beyond “Did anyone know the victim” and of course, no one EVER did.

21 — Anonymous wrote at 11:36 AM on May 31:

While the destruction of law and order is proceeding full-speed at the level of policing, a similar effort to destroy law and order is underway at the other end — at the judicial level. For example, our next Supreme Court Judge, Sonia Sotomayor, has already more-or-less proclaimed that she will base her decisions not on the law, but on the personal history of the accused. Disadvantaged people (i.e., those with dark skin color) will be given leniency. Obama is also pushing for such “empathy.”

22 — Webspin wrote at 11:53 AM on May 31:

“Arrests are made in only 37% of Detroit homicides”

I think this says it all! When one factors out the crimes where the perps are easy to find, such as murders amongst relatives and ‘friends’, the actual success of this keystone cop department must be less than 10%.

Imagine the arrest rate of less high profile crimes!

23 — Been there wrote at 1:19 AM on June 1:

Reminds me of the kind of story you’d read over at the South Africa Sucks website…

24 — Anonymous wrote at 7:39 AM on June 1:

Can anyone name one city with a black run political system where whites are welcome (and safe)?

25 — Alexandra wrote at 11:04 AM on June 1:

Depressing how low my hometown has sunk.

Back in the 60s, my dad wanted to be a Detroit cop. He passed all their tests. The one thing that kept him from being hired was lack of a high school diploma.

I’m always uneasy if I have to drive through Detroit on I-75. Now when I visit my family I just take I-275 and go around. It’s about 20 miles out of my way but worth it.

26 — Nick wrote at 11:04 AM on June 1:

The problem is that after creating this debacle blacks don’t stay in Detroit.

After wrecking that city they move on to the next one. And of course they bring their problems with them.

Detroit’s population is down to 500,000. Guess where they want to move?

27 — SKIP wrote at 4:34 PM on June 1:

Reminds me of the kind of story you’d read over at the South Africa Sucks website…

Besides www.zasucks.com DON’T FORGET www.sweetness-light.com another very informative website.

28 — SKIP wrote at 9:45 PM on June 1:

Altogether, three county jails that held about 2,500 prisoners a year ago now house 400 fewer inmates.

Now the mandate for the Obamaster’s staff is to find Federal government jobs for the other 2100 inmates.

29 — Anonymous wrote at 3:49 PM on June 2:

If blacks had their way, there would be no rules, no law, and certainly no punishment. They view our legal system as oppressive.


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