Detroit Police Stations to close after 4pm each day
From the Chicago Tribune:
Detroit, which has one of the highest crime rates of large American cities, plans to close its police stations to the public for 16 hours a day — including the critical overnight hours — as the cash-strapped city struggles to slash costs.
Public-facing desks at the eight stations that represent the eight precincts or districts of the Detroit Police Department will be closed at 4 p.m. every day and reopen the next morning at 8 a.m. starting on Monday. It means residents could have a harder time immediately finding face-to-face help from the police during key hours of the day.
The moves are expected to lead to “virtual precincts” as the police department plans to redeploy desk-bound officers to more time on the streets during the affected hours.
…
The police department plans to create online tools so citizens can use the Internet to reach out for help as well, he said.
Considering Detroit’s deteriorating economy and the fact that income is the largest determinant of whether someone has internet access, this seems like a pretty bad move. Especially when Detroit is simultaneously shuttering it’s public libraries, one of the only places citizens can access the internet for free.
