Welcome back. I’m stillMalachi Barrett.
Detroit has experienced anoverall decline in crimeand anincrease in mental health emergenciesin thethree yearssincePolice Chief James Whitewas appointed.
White, a Detroit native who grew up in the Boston-Edison neighborhood, is 28-year veteranwho returned to the department after leading the Michigan Civil Rights Commission.
White previously worked to steer the Police Departmentout of federal oversightthat hadbeen in placefor 11 years. He is a licensed mental health counselor whotouted constitutional policing and targetedmental health issuessince hisfirst press conference.
The police chief and Mayor Mike Dugganrecently asked state lawmakersto fund treatment facilities to take the burden off police officers who are called to help people in crisis.
White invited BridgeDetroit to a conversation at the downtown Public Safety Headquarters in June to talk more about where things stand.
White is quick to acknowledge thatpolice aren’t the best fit as mental health responders, but his department is stepping up to meet the need.
Detroiters reported408 more emergency callsfor mental health issues as of June 3. White established a specialized mental health co-response unit to respond to those crisis calls.
Police are responding to situations where people are threatening to hurt themselves or others.
The Board of Police Commissioners was recently briefed on a May incident where a16-year-old was shot and killed by his uncle, who was suffering from a diagnosed mental illness.
Officers found the teen lying on the floor while his uncle was still armed, and police exchanged gunfire with the man, killing him.
Police report an annual decline in all crime categories, particularly in homicides, assaults and vehicle theft.
The city has24 fewer murders and 57 fewer non-fatal shootingsas of last week.
Read on for our interview, which is slightly edited for length and clarity.
BD: You and the mayor askedthestate to fundmental health facilities. We don’t know when that will happen, and in the meantimemental health 911 calls continue to rise. How will you address this if the trend continues?
White:I started with the department in 1996. That’s the exact year that theLafayette Clinic closed. In my career I’ve never seen long-term mental health care facilities. There’s a revolving door.
The ideal place for mental health is not policing. We’re not the ideal people to be the first person to respond to a mental health crisis. However, we are (responding) because the person calling is essentially saying ‘the person I care about is having a reaction that is so concerning that I need the police.’
Often those calls include (concerns that) they are violent, they are trying to hurt themselves or hurt others. The officer is going to be concerned about their safety. Everyone is hyper vigilant.
Now the officer has to de-escalate, keep everyone in the space safe and talk this person down to a point where trust is built and they can get them the services they need.
Police officers did not have that kind of training when I came on in 1996. They came in, saw someone who was being disorderly, arrested them and took them to jail.
By changing that structure and bringing in this new training, we’re making police officers move into an area that was initially unnatural for them. They’re here and doing a good job, but they are not the persons that should be doing it.
Mental health continues to be a medical condition that is treated at failure.
People will get up and they will power through it day in and day out until there is a failure where they’re borderline immobilized – where they can’t get out of bed or they don’t want to seek friends or loved ones. That’s like having pneumonia before you take something for a cough.
These so-called wars on things don’t work. We tried a war on drugs and drugs didn’t go anywhere. We go into these areas and attack issues. We often leave those communities somewhat confused.
If you focus on mental health and give people the resources they need, you’re going to see a reduction in crime.
When someone beats another person up because they stomped on their shoes, when you have road rage and people are making the unbelievable decision to shoot out the window of a car because you cut me off, you don’t think there’s anger management issues there?
If we treat mental health the way we’re supposed to, you’re going to see a reduction of drug use. People are self-medicating.
You’re going to see a reduction in people going to jail. You’re going to see more families staying together.
BD: What should recruits learn about interacting with political protesters? There’s a perception that police are inherently oppositional to demonstrators.
White:I don’t disagree with you. I watch a lot of videos and hear from a lot of people.
We support peaceful protests. we’re not here to corral people from their issue. Our job is to provide people a safe space to vocalize their issue.
If it turns to violence, if it turns non peaceful, then we have a responsibility to protect all parties including the protesters, if they’re being attacked from those who disagree with their messaging.
Anyone who wears this badge and this uniform understands that relationship building with the community it’s an ongoing responsibility.
Community trust in policing is not a pool that fills to the top; it’s like a reservoir where the trust drips in and there’s moments where it has different levels. One bad incident in policing can cause that reservoir to dry up quickly.
You’re not going to have agreement in policing. Force is not pretty. There’s never been a time when I’ve looked at a force incident and I said ‘well, that looks good.’ So, you have to explain it.
BridgeDetroit: You’ve led the department for three years now. What are some accomplishments and what is left undone?
Chief James White:I came in with a strategy and a plan for crime reduction that’s responsive to the community’s needs, but also responsible and constitutional. That’s my background.
That’s the work that I’ve done with the(federal) consent judgment, that’s the work I did in the time I was at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
Some of the bigger accomplishments over the past few years was the implementation of the new body cameras. It provides greater accessibility for management to look at the actions of the officers. We have a strong policy on body camera usage.
One thing I’m most proud of is … anytime there is a critical use of force or officer-involved shooting, within 45 days of the incident we release video and information.
Our relationship with theDetroit Wayne Integrated Health Networkto train our officers and having those mental health professionals in our call center and on the street with officers.
Another thing that’s great is our Special Response Team, what people refer to as SWAT, when they go do negotiations, they have a mental health trained person to negotiate with people who are barricaded or have hostages.
Those are the wins. For things left undone: We have seen a significant reduction in violent crime but it’s not enough. The city is still way too violent.
We still have guns in the hands of kids and a lot of domestic violence homicides and deaths. I really want to concentrate more on those areas now.
What can we do as a police department to provide more resources to victims of domestic violence?
Can we disrupt the pathway to additional violence by providing those resources early enough and those families to maybe prevent a homicide?
BD: What is the future for you? When you started this job did you have a timeframe in mind of when you’d be ready to move on?
White:I’m very proud of the things we’ve done in the department. I love Detroit and love the police department.
You know, it’s early, but I’m starting to think of my future. Three years have gone by very quickly.
Twenty-eight years in policing is a lot and we’re running up to 29. This is a 12-15 hour day job every single day. So I’m thinking about the future now, but I haven’t made any decisions yet.
As of today, we got a 24% reduction in homicides (compared to this point in 2023), 14% reduction in sexual assaults, a 22% reduction in non-fatal shootings and a 50% reduction in carjacking.
Those numbers make me feel good. They’re not enough. The city is still way too violent.
But we see these types of crime reductions and our strategy is working.
