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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| The state had no confidence in Lock so we ended up with Barnett Jones. In my opinion kurtz, Brown and Lock need to go. Kincaid told those at the Council meeting there was no debate on the issue. |
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Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:55 am |
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Ted Jankowski
F L I N T O I D
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Sat Jan 19, 2013 2:15 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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As Flint hires new police, city council members want public safety update
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
on February 11, 2013 at 7:56 PM, updated February 11, 2013 at 8:00 PM
FLINT, MI -- The city of Flint is hiring new police officers -- and the Flint City Council wants to know how it's being done and when they'll be on the job.
At a meeting tonight, Feb. 11, council members called for a public safety department head to attend a future meeting to update council members and the general public on who is being hired and how.
Flint City Council Vice President Bryant Nolden said he wants to know if the officers under consideration have experience working in urban communities such as Flint.
"It's going to be a culture shock if they come here without inner-city experience," Nolden said. "It could lead to a volatile situation."
The city posted a public hiring notice in November, asking for "certified or certifiable" law enforcement personnel. A spokesman at the time said the city would be hiring 10-12 positions.
Councilman Sheldon Neeley said he wants to know where the city is recruiting from and what the plans are for any positions being created or filled.
He also pointed to the vacancy of former public safety administrator Barnett Jones, who resigned after the emergency financial manager learned Jones was also working a second full-time job as chief security officer for the Detroit water department.
"The public deserves an update on the city's public safety position overall," Neeley said. "We haven't had a defined fire (chief) in a long time."
City Council President Scott Kincaid said he suggested the city hold a police academy to draw more local recruits who reflect the demographics of Flint, but was told it would be too costly for the city, which is under control of a state-appointed emergency financial manager.
Flint resident Eric Mays spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, saying he hopes the city is recruiting experienced officers for the detective bureau who reflect the community.
"If you don’t get the right undercover people to go in the right neighborhoods, you won't solve crime," he said.
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Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:16 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I was under the impression the new officers were hired,trained at Mott college and working with seasoned oficers.
The new detectives are being challenged in court as the administration, Chief Lock and captain darryl Patterson allegedly failed to follow the city rules, policies and procedures for provisional and permanent promotions of the Sgt.s. |
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Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:19 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Officers were under the impression the new officers would be riding with the experienced officers at least two weeks ago. Now I am told they have not been selected yet. The city was trying to get certified officers, so that probably means they don't need a training class.
The millage was retroactive back to July 1, 2012. The officers were only going to be in place for 2 years before another layoff. Either the city anticipates a large round of retirees or these new officers were slated for layoff in the future.
What happens to the money not used for these so far nonexistant employees. Are the salaries for these "ghost" employees being applied to the millage?
Tonight the city is holding an event at the Flint Public Library to address public safety between 5:30 and 7 pm. |
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Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:35 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Although the police voted no confidence in Lock, the largest portion of officers believe nothing will change.
Perhaps this is when the state reconsiders the Sheriff's proposals for specialized task forces. |
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Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:54 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint police chief says five homicides in six days not a sign that crime is up
Chris Aldridge | caldridg@mlive.com By Chris Aldridge | caldridg@mlive.com
on June 30, 2013 at 6:00 PM, updated June 30, 2013 at 6:02 PM
FLINT, MI – Flint Police Chief Alvern Lock says crime is not on the rise, despite a rash of five homicides over a six-day span.
The city has reached 29 homicides this year
with a deadly stretch that began Monday, June 24, in an apparent drive-by shooting in the area of Austin and Martin Luther King avenues that resulted in the death of 23-year-old Demitrius Charles Edwards.
Another man was shot dead just one day later, Tuesday, June 25, on the 5500 block of Baldwin Boulevard.
Two people died after what police said was an apparent homicide-suicide near 3231 Leith Street, Friday, June 28.
A double homicide Sunday, June 30, occurred on the 2900 block of Brandon Street between Knight and Knapp avenues, leaving one man and a woman dead.
But to Lock, who on Friday received a vote of no confidence from Flint patrol officers, the slayings are not a signal that crime in Flint is on the rise.
"You have to look at the whole picture, you can't just look at homicides – as sad as they are – and say that crime is up," said Lock, who felt crime in the city to be "slow" for the last six months. "Homicides don't affect 90 percent of the people in Flint. What about the people that aren't affected by (homicides) – they don't get policing? I have to police the whole city."
Lock said focusing solely on homicides – especially in a short amount of time as one week – to establish that crime has seen an increase is a "flawed way of looking at things."
"This week we had five (homicides), so that means crime is up? What about the weeks where we don't have any?" he said. "Does that mean crime is down?"
Flint City Council President Scott Kincaid disagreed with Lock's contention.
"We've probably had more crime this year than last when it comes to violent crime," Kincaid said.
Though Kincaid feels crime in the city of Flint to be a concern of everybody, he said involvement from the emergency manager and governor is necessary to curb crime.
"We (city council) don't have a say anymore to implement a strategy, and residents can only do so much," he said. "The city needs to come up with a new strategy, clearly it's not working. The emergency manager has been here 19 months and crime hasn't gone down."
Lock said the department plans to continue its current plan in handling the city's crime.
"The plan is working as far as I'm concerned," he said. "Look at the numbers, they speak for themselves."
Flint resident Ron Elrod felt the effects of this week's crime after losing a close friend. He had known the 64-year-old man, who was shot to death in Friday's homicide-suicide, for 13 years and would routinely visit restaurants and coffee shops with him.
"I'd probably seen him more than anyone in my life," Elrod said. "We've went hunting together, got coffee together for 13 years."
Elrod considered the loss of his friend to be an empty spot in his life.
"It's going to be a real heartache not seeing him," he said.
For Flint resident Rhonda Burnes, three words could sum up her feelings after finding out family members had been shot and killed early Sunday morning.
"This is horrible," she said, anxiously awaiting details from police on scene as to what happened.
The double homicide that occurred Sunday on the 2900 block of Brandon Street came as a shock to Mae Carranza, 22, who had moved into the area just six months ago.
"The neighborhood is nice. That's why we moved here," she said.
Others shed tears in consoling one another at the scene of a drive-by shooting that left 23-year-old Demitrius Charles Edwards dead near the intersection of Martin Luther King and Austin avenues Monday. |
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Mon Jul 01, 2013 6:35 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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But to Lock, who on Friday received a vote of no confidence from Flint patrol officers, the slayings are not a signal that crime in Flint is on the rise.
"You have to look at the whole picture, you can't just look at homicides – as sad as they are – and say that crime is up," said Lock, who felt crime in the city to be "slow" for the last six months. "Homicides don't affect 90 percent of the people in Flint. What about the people that aren't affected by (homicides) – they don't get policing? I have to police the whole city."
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I don't know where Lock has been, but crime has been increasing. The number of shots fired and people injured is on the rise. People don't even report all of the shots fired but the number of incidents where huge number of bullets are flying are increasing. The number of murders is not the only indicator of crime.
I saw a posting on one of the scanner sites where an east side female said there needed to be a search of every abandoned house that burned for hidden bodies. Could there be more dead than we know about?
Lock has been more involved with helping his friends on the force get promotions. There is the reverse discrimination case file by Tom Pabst for 14 white officers against Lock and 2 cases in the fire department against lock.
How much will these law suits cost? |
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Mon Jul 01, 2013 7:15 am |
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ConcernedCitizen
F L I N T O I D
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"You have to look at the whole picture, you can't just look at homicides – as sad as they are – and say that crime is up," said Lock, who felt crime in the city to be "slow" for the last six months.
"Homicides don't affect 90 percent of the people in Flint.
What about the people that aren't affected by (homicides) – they don't get policing? I have to police the whole city.
"That statement alone shows that Lock has no understanding of how crime affects a community! That’s a concept that a Police chief should thoroughly understand.
1) There are a lot more than 10% of the people in Flint that are afraid to leave their houses after dark due to the gunfire and murders. I know there are areas where people are afraid to leave their houses even during the day.
2) Many people have left Flint to get away from the crime, eroding our tax base and forcing the City to cut services. There are others that would move if they could afford to leave. But their property values have dropped substantially, partially due to murders and other crimes. This affects 100% of the people in Flint.
3) Being #1 in per capita murder rankings in the country affects what insurance costs. This directly affects every person in Flint that has insurance and indirectly affects everybody in Flint since the higher cost of business insurance is passed on to customers.
4) Police services for lesser offenses are almost non-existent since officers are tied up dealing with the large number of murders. Even major crimes can have long waiting time for police to arrive. This also affects everybody.
5) Not many businesses are eager to move to a location with high numbers of violent crimes, especially murders. And some businesses have left for greener pastures due to the crime. This negatively affects our local economy. Once again, this affects 100% of the people in Flint.
These are just a few ways that high numbers of murders affect everybody in this community. But Lock understands this about as well as he understands how to reduce the crime in Flint. He has had several years to reduce the crime rate, but has failed miserably. You might say he set his sights very low and failed reach those.
You have to wonder why Brown has kept him around so long. Is it because Lock is easily manipulated and is just a Brown puppet? Since Brown is ultimately responsible as the emergency manager, you would think that Brown would try to hire a QUALIFIED chief that would not make him look bad. But then again, maybe Brown hasn’t noticed because his head is so far up his a*s that he can’t see what’s happening all around him. |
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"When people fear their government, there is TYRANNY.
When the government fears the people, there is Liberty"
Thomas Jefferson |
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Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:03 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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There was a lot of anger directed towards Lock at a meting in the north end this week.
The north end mini station is in name only a resource center. However the facility lacks the essentials to provide services such as Coplogic and more. Without internet access, the north end station cannot help hose without computers file their police complaints. Thus there cannot be a true accounting of north end crime.
The group stated they had followed all protocols to no avail and are now ready to declare war on the administration. This resource center lacks the amenities of the others and the residents stated this is one more way they have separated us.
The Chief speaks with a forked tongue, stated one upset resident, so he can't complain when we go over his head. |
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Fri Aug 16, 2013 8:49 pm |
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