DETROIT – Changes are coming to the Detroit Police Department, including a plan for shortened business hours and a different system for reporting crime.
For a good portion of his day, Vas Duchaj lives in a bullet proof fishbowl at the corner of Ryan and Nevada on the City's Northeast side. Nevada Coney is a fixture in this community and has been for two generations.
Vas says while he looks vulnerable he feels safe, but when the sun goes down, he's always a little nervous. Even with bullet proof glass on all sides.
Around the corner the Northeastern Police district is in its first hours as a virtual station. The new experiment by Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee means that from 4pm to 8am the doors will be locked and officers normally behind the desk or in offices, will be on the streets instead, only a skeleton crew inside. The lieutenant here tells me, just because the doors are locked, doesn't mean the precinct is closed. If there's a dispute or non emergency… come to the station. You'll be let in… and any business that absolutely requires and officer will be handled personally… any thing else and citizens will be directed to a self service reporting phone to make a report. It means during the midnight shift four more officers are on the street.
Vas likes the idea and on the first morning, already saw a difference. We did, too. While interviewing Vas, we saw three police cars roll by, each one slowed down to take an easy peek inside to make sure everything was okay. Vas says he thinks citizens will like seeing more police cruisers making rounds in the neighborhoods.
Back at the Northeastern District the lieutenant told me the first night has gone smoothly. He thinks this is a great time to try this and get
citizens up to speed on the new normal of a little self-serve police reporting. It's kind of like bagging groceries in the self-serve lane at any market. You scan your own items, bag them up yourself and there's always someone standing nearby if you get into trouble.