A British cop's experience with the Detroit PD

[LittleLebowski]

Matthews said he admires Detroit police for their courage under fire.

“I’ve always held that DPD are great cops, and I think that’s because of their environment. They learn quickly how to survive on the streets. The guys aren’t the best paid in the country, and yet they come into work every single day and do their job. They’re some of the best cops I’ve seen in America.” (http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2016/01/16/english-police-officer-hits-detroit-streets/78913254)

[WobblyPossum]

Link to the article: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2016/01/16/english-police-officer-hits-detroit-streets/78913254/


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[voodoo_man]

Obviously skewed since he didn't ride around with me or else it would have been to the tune of "these American blokes are crazy."

[LittleLebowski]

Link to the article: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2016/01/16/english-police-officer-hits-detroit-streets/78913254/


Or you can click the text in the first post ;)

[Bigguy]

There were 537 homicides in England last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that in the UK a death is not ruled a homicide until there is a successful prosecution.
Comparing England (or UK) murder rates with the US: More complex than you thought (http://rboatright.blogspot.com/2013/03/comparing-england-or-uk-murder-rates.html)

Since 1967, homicide figures for England and Wales have been adjusted to exclude any cases which do not result in conviction

I'm always skeptical when I hear how peaceful the UK is compared to the wild west USA.

[Bigguy]

And there wouldn’t be the kind of shortage of police officers you see in Detroit because of the way police are funded. Here, towns and cities pay for their own police; in the U.K., police are funded centrally by the government. So my tax pounds in London pay for police in Nottingham. The money is spread equally.

Yep, and here that would result in Detroit paying for police in Gillett Arkansas. Gillett would no doubt have a larger police force, but so far they seem to do well with what they have. Of course, that larger force in Gillett would come at the expense of the DPD.

[WobblyPossum]

Or you can click the text in the first post ;)

Weird. It doesn't link for me. I don't know if it's a Tapatalk issue. I just thought you forgot to post the link ;)


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[RoyGBiv]

Interesting read. Thanks LL

[Argus]

Weird. It doesn't link for me. I don't know if it's a Tapatalk issue. I just thought you forgot to post the link ;)


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Yup. No link in Tapatalk in the original post for me either. Good read though.

[JAD]

Curse you, Howdy Dong!

[Drang]

The guys aren’t the best paid in the country, and yet they come into work every single day and do their job. They’re some of the best cops I’ve seen in America.”

Have they gotten a raise since my father retired? I know at the time there hadn't been a raise in a decade or so.

Settling down (buying a house) in WA was a bit of an eye-opener; there were two or three Seattle cops living in my (suburban) neighborhood. Detroit cops have to reside in the city. Many of them had a house in the suburbs for their family, and a crash pad in town.

[fixer]

After living in the Detroit area for a total of 10 months, I can relate to this story--I was in awe of anyone who chose to wake up and put a badge and uniform on in the east side of the city.

[tanner]

Have they gotten a raise since my father retired? I know at the time there hadn't been a raise in a decade or so.

Yes, but still not enough for those dudes.. Very poorly run and corrupt city, but this new Mayor seems to be making strides.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/11/30/mayor-detroit-police-officers-get-pay-raises/76554970/