Board of Police Commissioners, Evening Community Meeting
Detroit Board of Police Commissioners
Criminal Justice
Remote
Join meeting on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81981390642
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Detroit - MI Documenters Team
Note-taking by
Gabriel Gamlin
After anecdotal evidence from Commander McCay of the value of Project Green Light and license plate readers, public commenters urged Detroit police to provide statistical evidence of their efficacy.
Live reporting by
Carole Hawke
After anecdotal evidence from Commander McCay of the value of Project Green Light and license plate readers, public commenters urged Detroit police to provide statistical evidence of their efficacy.
Carole Hawke
@hawke48223
Hello, Detroit Documenters! I will be live-tweeting for the weekly meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners for DETdocumenters @DetDocumenters media partners: @BridgeDet313 @chalkbeatDET @freep @metrotimes @michigan_public @media_outlier @PlanetDetroit @wdet @wxyzdetroit.
05:27 PM Feb 8, 2024 CST
“The Board of Police of Commissioners was created in 1974 by City Charter, which was adopted by the vote of the people. The Charter vests broad supervisory authority over the Police Department in the eleven-member civilian Board of Police Commissioners.”
Meeting starts at 6:30.
Tonight’s meeting will be held at Solomon’s Temple Church on E Seven Mile.
Tonight’s meeting will be held at Solomon’s Temple Church on E Seven Mile.
Tonight’s special topic: Community Impact Report: Greenlight technology
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, email documenters@outliermedia.org with "Correction Request" subject line.
Notes, twitter threads, and transcripts from previous meetings can be found at
detroit.documenters.org/reporting/?age…
Also, Outlier Media issues regular BOPC Watch which can be found at
outliermedia.org/category/syste…
Calling roll. Present: Pressley, Bell, Bernard, Banks, Burton, Moore, Woods, Gamble. Excused absence for Carter and Liberty Smith. Absent: Hernandez.
Minutes for prior meetings approved. One objection for approving each of the closed session minutes from February 1st, as one commissioner said he has not seen these posted.
Commissioner Cedrick Banks welcoming other commissioners to his district (D3).
Commissioner Banks reading certificates of appreciation for police officers.
Once a month, BOPC meetings are held in the community and are quite long on these expressions of appreciation for officers and others. I'll refrain from a lot of detail on this part.
Reading a resolution honoring Frederick Botten, community member in district 3. Most notable is that the resolution has popped up on the screen, so maybe we will now get video of the meeting--??
Chairman Pressley offered to read the other resolutions to save time, but Commissioner Banks would like to read one more (Ryland G. Hill, Jr.)
This meeting has more overtly Christian religious language and Bible quotations in its invocation, introduction, and resolutions than previous meetings I have covered.
Chair Pressley has moved on to reading other resolutions. (His reading is more fluent, so resolutions will move more quickly.) He is now honoring Rickey and Cassandra Williams.
Cassandra Williams accepting resolution and sharing of how she has been working with domestic violence victims through her ministry.
Resolution honoring Carolyn Williamson Green. She is accepting the resolution and -- hurray!-- some video is briefly appearing the the corner of the screen.
"It feels like a church convention in here!" says Pressley. I guess I'm not the only one. :)
January 27th call for missing person from Wildemere. Family had info that there may have been a shooting. On Feb 2, received a tip that there was a body in the sewer. Went into sewer and found body.
2022 Chevy Trailblazer on Stahelin, shooting victim found inside. This is also unsolved. Any info that public has should share.
Feb 7 shooting on 700 Covington. Red SUV with DWG 062 license plate is believed to be connected. Any info, contact 1-800-speak-up or Detroit Rewards TV.
I should have mentioned that this was DC Williams giving the Chief's Report.
Question from Commissioner about using ARPA funds to provide heated sidewalks around senior citizens' buildings.
Commissioner Darryl Woods would have liked to have seen something more robust for Black History Month coming from the DPD. There is an African American chief of police, and BOPC was founded under Coleman Young who brought in the first Black chief of police for Detroit.
Rebecca McCabe, 11th precinct commander, bringing report for precinct 2023 to 2024. Sexual assaults down from 5 to 4. Homicides up. Robberies down from 14 to 10. Carjackings are 0 this year and 3 in 2023. Burglaries are up. Larcenies are down from 123 to 87.
Continuing with rapid shot-spotter wraparound. Monitoring scrapping sites and stopping tarped trucks to stop burglaries, many of which happen in unoccupied structures.
Listing drugs confiscated, felons arrested, and guns taken off the street so far in 2024. Working closely with ATF, FBI, gang squads, nearby municipalities.
11th precinct has an embedded social worker who works with victims to empower them and reduct further victimization.
Question from commissioner on percent of crime reduction can be attributed to shot-spotter. Commander says that doesn't have statistics, but it does help in taking guns off the street. It allows DPD to get search warrants to get into locations to access illegal weapons.
Commissioner Bernard asked about surveillance technology. Do you have license plate readers? How many greenlight sites? Bernard chairs committee on tech and would like insight.
Answer: Have 63 greenlight locations. Recent meeting with businesses centered on how helpful greenlight is in solving crimes and deterring crimes. Many patrol cars equipped with license plate readers but have no stationary readers.
Bernard recommended looking at the recent Riverwise article on greenlight being not helpful at all in solving crimes, only for surveillance.
Question from Banks: How measure change in crime? Answer: Crime reports are generated and this allows to see where specific crimes are committed.
Question from Gamble: What kinds of weapons have you confiscated? Answer: One long gun, 17 handguns including 2 which were equipped with switch to make them fully automatic.
Question from Banks: How effective are license plate readers? Answer: They are definitely helpful in solving crimes. It allows us to run plates through readers and track the perpetrator all the way across town to where he/she lives or spends a lot of time.
Question from Burton: Are you familiar with Micah Williams case from Chicago pertaining to shot spotter? Or Savant Simmons case out of Rochester NY?
Burton: Judge in Simmons case says that shot spotter doesn't work. And Chicago is now involved in a multi-million dollar lawsuit regarding shot spotter. Encourages all top brass to understand these cases and have more conversations with ACLU, prosecutors' offices, community.
Question from commissioner: What is retention rate as it relates to greenlights? Answer: Haven't heard since Oct 30th of any businesses pulling out.
Question: What are some positives of greenlight? Answer: Greenlight was helpful in directing officers searching for a criminal in a scrapyard (I think?) to locate the criminal. It also helps business owners feel safer as police can respond.
Question from Commissioner Moore: You said it is a priority #1 for a greenlight? So if someone at a corner store with greenlight stealing a bag of chips, that takes priority over a violent crime? Answer: No, the violent crimes take priority.
Amending the agenda to welcome Ms. Kim Jackson- Eaton to make report from Police Community Relations Council for 11th Precinct earlier in the meeting.
Mentions success in getting businesses to sign on to not selling tobacco to minors. Going through location and positives of the community.
Moving to in-person community comment. Bernice Smith reading a prepared statement. Came to Detroit 60 years ago from Chicago at time when Black residents on Dexter kept up their homes beautifully. Have loved this city and done well. Must end crime in our city-- enough is enough!
Megan Douglas commenting. Father worked in juvenile detention. Founded golf leagues for young people, founded on mentorship. Grew up on border of AA/ Ypsi and sees how a community prospers when it chooses to invest in youth rather than directing young people to criminal justice.
Dean Evans from Ann Arbor commenting. Sees how surveillance affects white people like him differently from brown people. Consider using funds to invest in young people rather than for surveillance.
Victoria commenting. Important to research technologies and not just take DPD's word for things. It is a concern that businesses that participate in greenlight get priority treatment, which is in conflict with Detroit's charter that services be offered equally.
Was this Victoria Shah? No last name given. She also said that there is now a tool on the website (not sure which website-?) to look up address and get important information.
She gave a lot of good information, but it was hard to catch because she was speaking quickly.
Rae Baker commenting. A year ago, NPR reported that Detroit's Greenlight program received a 'no result' (or 'no effect'?) rating, which DOJ supported. This means it has no effect and may even be harmful.
Baker's coalition implores BOPC and DPD to release statistical data (not tangential or anecdotal) or Greenlight's efficacy.
Zoom commenter Tawanna Petty objects to millions of dollars cycling into expansion of surveillance programs in spite of no statistical evidence of their effectiveness.
(Petty still commenting): Portia Woodroff, pregnant mother in Detroit, arrested due to faulty identification. Detroit now has 50% of misidentification cases in the nation due to our oversurveillance. We are not safe and never will be safe from surveillance.
(Should have mentioned in person comment from Reuben X about corrupt commissioners.)
Two other commenters on Zoom having tech issues, so hoping to welcome them next week.
Acting secretary Brown reporting on incoming correspondence. These have been emailed to commissioners. This is thanks to work of former secretary and current attorney for BOPC.
Now have community members on the policy committee, as well. Victoria Shah helped to draft the new proposed by-laws. All info posted on policy committee website.
Discussion by committee on items in document 203.11 on eyewitness identification.
Clarification: Regarding line-ups, there must be at least 6 people in a line-up.
Commissioner Burton: When he chaired Policy Committee made it easy for ACLU and others to come in and make presentations. Concerned that we have not heard from ACLU nor from Post Institute (poverty thinktank) nor from residents about the line-up policy.
Burton: In Detroit, America's Blackest, poorest city, we can do a lot better in protecting our residents. We need to look at best practices for eyewitness policies and safeguards.
Commissioner Burton: Oftentimes, policies in Detroit are tailored from law enforcement's point of view. ACLU protects residents. We need to make sure that all voices of residents are heard. We should never rush nor rubber stamp these policies. All lives should be protected.
Commissioner Woods: All the committee's meetings are open to the public. Any objections to policies should be written up and brought to the committee. If anyone has any more recommendations, bring them to the committee and we will consider them before making decisions.
Commissioner Burton motions that the conference room be named for the late Ron Scott, who was an activist against police brutality. This was enthusiastically approved by the board, with recommendation that a resolution go with it.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, email documenters@outliermedia.org with "Correction Request" subject line.
For more information, including transcripts of the meeting, go to
detroit.documenters.org/reporting/
Attachments
Agency Information
Detroit Board of Police Commissioners
The Board of Police Commissioners has supervisory control and oversight of the Police Department, including plenary authority over citizen complaints and the power to appoint fact finders, subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and require the production of evidence. The Board also appoints a civilian as Director of Police Personnel and approves all promotions made by the Chief. The 11 member board is comprised of 7 elected members from each city council district and 4 members appointed by the Mayor. https://detroitmi.gov/government/boards/board-police-commissioners
Documents
2/8/2024
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