| Detroit Police Department | |
| Abbreviation | DPD |
| Patch of the Detroit Police Department. | |
| Motto | Making Detroit a safer place to live, work, and visit. |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | City of Detroit in the state of Michigan, United States |
| Map of the Detroit Police Department's jurisdiction. | |
| General nature |
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| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 1300 Beaubien St. (Current) 1300 John C. Lodge Freeway (New HQ under construction) |
| Officers | 2,770[1] |
| Agency executive | Ralph L. Godbee Jr.[2], Chief of Police |
| Facilities | |
| Districts |
8
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| Website | |
| Detroit Police Department | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Detroit Police Department (DPD), established in 1865, is responsible for the city of Detroit, Michigan.
Contents |
The Detroit Police Department was established in 1865 to serve the city's growing population and covers the city with 5 districts and two precincts. The Detroit Police Department was also the first in the country to utilize two way radios in their cars. A historical marker at Belle Isle describes the new advancement in technology.
The Detroit Police Department has lost 8 officers between the years 2000 and 2011. During the 1970s, the department lost 26 officers in a span of ten years. Since 1878, The Detroit Police Department has lost 225 officers in the line of duty.[4] The leading cause of death in the line of duty is gunfire, with a total of 149 officers slain.
On September 4, 2008, as court proceedings were going on for then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Ella M. Bully-Cummings announced her retirement as the chief of police. She was the first female police chief in department history.
On May 16, 2010 while in the process of serving a warrant in search of a suspect, Detroit police allegedly shot and killed a 7-year-old child. There are conflicting statements on the cause of the shooting, officers claim that in a struggle with family members the gun accidentally discharged. An attorney for the family Geoffrey Feiger, claims that video footage shows the shot coming from an officer on the porch of the house[5]. Aiyana Jones had been sleeping on a couch when police raided her home, released flash grenades and fired shots, one of which entered her skull.[6] On July 22, 2010 Chief of Police Warren Evans was asked for his resignation from his position at the request of Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, citing controversial actions related to the death of Jones on the A&E reality TV show "The First 48".[7]
On January 23rd, 2011, Lamar Moore walked into the lobby of the 6th Precinct and open fired with a shotgun, wounding four police officers. Moore was then shot dead by several police officers as he attempted to continue shooting. No clear motivation has been established, although Moore was a suspect in the kidnapping of a thirteen year old girl. Footage of the shootout from a CCTV was subsequently released by the Detroit Police Department and became viral on the internet. [8]
In 2000, the city requested an investigation by the United States Justice Department into the Detroit Police Department which was concluded in 2003 over allegations regarding its use of force and civil rights violations.[9] Despite the critics, the city proceeded with a major reorganization of the Detroit Police Department; simply put, the city seized the opportunity to trim its budget saving $20,000,000. The department's thirteen precincts were consolidated into six larger districts: central, southwestern, northeastern, eastern, western, and northwestern.
The reorganization has largely been hailed as a failure, with increased response times, higher call volumes, and less reliable patrol coverage. In 2009 in an attempt to rectify these problems Chief James Barren announced a plan to revert to the precinct system, and the Tenth and Twelve Precincts (formerly the Western District) reopened on February 2, 2009.[10]
On March 1, 2011, it was announced that the Detroit Police Department will be reverting to the precinct structure as each of the then-existing districts will be split in two.[11]
As of 2011, the department has 33% fewer sworn officers than in 2001, falling from a force of 4,093 to 2,770.[12]
On June 11, 2010 it was reported that the City of Detroit would acquire the former MGM Grand Detroit temporary casino building (originally the IRS Data Center) on John C. Lodge Freeway for $6.23 million dollars [13] and convert it into the new police headquarters complex which will also house a crime lab operated by the Michigan State Police.[14] The renovated building will also house the Detroit Fire Department headquarters. The former casino building has 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) of space. The historic Detroit Police headquarters are in Greektown.
The service pistol of the Detroit Police Department was formally the Glock 22, but currently is a variant of the Smith & Wesson M&P series.[15]
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Chief | |
| Assistant Chief | |
| Deputy Chief | |
| Commander | |
| Inspector | |
| Lieutenant | |
| Sergeant | |
| Investigator | |
| Police Officer |
Breakdown of the makeup of the rank and file of DPD [16]:
The Detroit Police Department has one of the largest percentages of sworn black officers of any major city police department. Incidentally, reports and allegations of racism and discrimination against whites and other non-African backgrounds have surfaced, even between employees of the department. Currently, 12 of the department's 15 upper command members including the chief, assistant chief of operations, assistant chief of administration, and all six of the department's district commanders are black.[17]