DETROIT – As we enter the final weekends of summer, Michigan Mayor Mike Duggan is now approving double-time pay for Detroit police officers to ensure the department has enough officers on the street to curb gun violence.
Those enhanced overtime rates start Friday, and while they’ll only last a month, it adds about 300 additional officers on the last few weekends of the summer, which is something Detroit Police Chief James White says the city needs.
“The work on the ground is what we need,” said White. “We need cars that respond to runs.”
White loves to say he’s got some of the hardest working police officers in the country.
“It’s important that we incentivize the work a little bit,” White said. “Double time they deserve that and even more.”
Double time also means you’ll see more police at parks, festivals, sporting events, and more.
“Our parks are packed,” White said. “You look at all the parks in the neighborhood every day they are packed, and they need to be policed, and that’s important for us. We know that we are going to have a surge these next couple of weekends, people getting their end-of-the-summer parties in, and we want to make sure we have that coverage.”
But what does that mean to people enjoying those parks?
“Just more police presence, you feel safer,” said one woman.
“More visibility overall is great for the community and the parks or what have you, and it keeps trouble down because if some type of problem arises, they’ll say, ‘y’all the cops are over there’ they’re going to keep it down,” said another woman.
The overtime will also include more officers working on specific details like drag racing, and drug raids.
White knows this isn’t a long-term solution. He says they are continuing to hire more officers.
