(CBS DETROIT) – The Detroit Police Department’s new Neighborhood Response Team responded to its first call Friday night.
According to DPD, they have responded to over 500 block parties in just 30 days. They also say they are becoming increasingly violent and illegal parties are happening all over Detroit. It is a growing problem that came to a head when two people were killed and 19 others were shot dead at a party last weekend.
Detroit Police Chief James White told the new meeting of 80 DPD members: “Let’s go out and keep this city safe.”
“We’re going to shut it down,” Chief Charles Fitzgerald added. “We’re going to be friendly and we’re going to be professional, but we’re going to shut them down.”
The officers who are part of the initiative come from multiple departments and districts, including the Gang Crimes Unit. According to the DPD, they are meant to be a first line of defense in stopping out-of-control pop-up parties before they turn deadly. “We definitely see a significant increase in outdoor activity during the summer,” Commander Michael Parish told CBS News Detroit, who rode along as he patrolled the city’s streets Friday night. “A key aspect of this initiative is to stop the problem before it becomes something more serious.”
Officers on the street will rely heavily on information gathered at DPD’s Real Time Crime Center downtown, but they say it’s just one part of a multi-layered approach that will be needed to stop the problems in the Motor City.
“The community is our best partner in this thing, and the Neighborhood Response Team gives us a way to communicate with them in a non-enforcement environment,” said Sgt. John Stewart. “We need to stop them from holding our neighborhoods hostage.”
