Detroit Has Fewest Cops Patrolling Streets In Nearly 100 Years
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) – The Detroit Police Department is suffering from its worst manpower shortage in nearly a century.
There are currently fewer officers patrolling the city than at any time since the 1920s. At one point, the Detroit police force was over 5,000. Today, the force is just 1,590 officers strong — and not all of those are on the street.
The city has lost nearly half its patrol officers since 2000 and ranks have shrunk by 37 percent in the past three years alone, according to the Detroit News. It’s so bad that precincts are reportedly left with only one squad car at times.
“This is a crisis, and the dam is going to break,” Mark Diaz, president of the Detroit Police Officers Association, told the newspaper. “It’s a Catch-22: I know the city is broke, but we’re not going to be able to build up a tax base of residents and businesses until we can provide a safe environment for them.”
It’s important to note that the city’s population has fluctuated greatly over the years. Here’s a breakdown of data segments comparing the number of officers to Detroit residents, according to the report. The city’s current citizen-to-officer ratio is 448 to 1.
Read More: http://detroit.cbslocal.com
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