Technology helps Detroit fight crime

Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. credits new technology and tactics for helping to reduce homicides by 15 percent.

Since taking over as head of the police force in 2010, Godbee has actively sought to procure technology to help police officers fulfill their mission and early results seem to indicate that his strategy is working. In 2010, Detroit, a city plagued by violent crimes, saw 308 murders – the lowest since 1967.

In an effort to stop homicides before they occur, police have begun deploying officers more strategically by analyzing real-time statistics like gun-related arrests, robberies, carjackings, and non-fatal shootings. Armed with that information, supervisors have sent patrols to locations that need it the most.

In addition, Godbee has placed a greater focus on street patrols, even though the department is struggling with budget shortfalls that have resulted in the loss of 1,000 officers. To make up for this shortage, more than 100 officers who work in the district court or in desk jobs have been assigned patrol duty once a week.

Underlying all these efforts is intelligence which requires strong relationships with the community, Godbee said.

“We’re only as good as the information the public gives us,” Godbee said. “You need a public that trusts the police enough to give us information.”

“We have a police department that’s about 1,000 officers fewer than it was in 2005, where we could just throw resources at a problem from a police standpoint,” he said. “We don’t have the luxury of doing that anymore. So when you have fewer resources, you have to be smarter in how you deploy those resources. Data is so critical — how we analyze it and how we turn it into actionable intelligence.”