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MAYOR
COCKREL
PRAISES
CLOSER
TIES
BETWEEN
DETROIT
POLICE,
DETROIT
PUBLIC
SCHOOLS
SECURITY
AND
COMMUNITY
GROUPS
DETROIT
--
Detroit
Mayor
Kenneth
Cockrel
Jr.
today
praised
evidence
of
improved
safety
for
Detroit
Public
Schools
(DPS)
students,
thanks
to a
better
working
relationship
between
the
Detroit
Police
Department
and the
Detroit
Public
Schools’
Public
Safety
Department,
along
with
continued
cooperation
with
community
groups
that
involve
parents
and
other
concerned
citizens.
At a
news
conference
held at
Detroit’s
Central
High
School,
Mayor
Cockrel
said
Detroit
Police
Chief
James
Barren
and DPS
Public
Safety
Chief
Charles
Mitchell
responded
well to
his
directive
last
fall for
closer
ties
between
the two
public
safety
forces.
“Chief
Barren
and
Chief
Mitchell
have
improved
communications
between
the two
departments,”
the
mayor
said.
“Chief
Barren
recognized
that in
order to
increase
student
safety,
the
relationship
between
DPS and
DPD had
to be
rehabilitated.
Through
the
years,
various
conflicts
of one
kind or
another
had kept
these
two
security
teams
apart.
Although
both
shared
the
common
goal of
keeping
children
safe at
school,
there
was not
much
communication
or
coordination
on the
issue.
“Today,”
Mayor
Cockrel
said,
“DPD and
DPS
Public
Safety
are
talking
together,
and most
importantly,
they are
working
together.”
In one
of the
most
important
steps
taken,
DPS was
given
its own
police
radio
channel,
which
provides
a direct
connection
to a
Detroit
police
dispatcher
during
emergencies.
In the
past,
DPS
police
and
security
staff
had to
stop and
dial
911. In
addition,
Detroit
police
and DPS
special
forces
meet
frequently
each
week to
share
information
that
allows
them to
prevent
violence
in and
around
schools.
Last
week,
for
instance,
Detroit
police
apprehended
a young
man
carrying
a
handgun
before
he could
enter a
school
on
Detroit’s
east
side.
“The
main
thing”
about
closer
ties
with
Detroit
police
“is it’s
preventive,”
said DPS
Chief
Mitchell.
Mayor
Cockrel
acknowledged
that an
Oct. 17,
2008
shooting
of a
Detroit
high
school
student
accelerated
steps
being
taken to
improve
cooperation
between
the
police
and
school
security.
Since
then,
Detroit
Police
report
that
arrests
have
been
made in
or near
schools
on 15
felony
charges;
11
misdemeanor
charges;
and 65
civil
infractions.
In
addition,
five
guns
have
been
confiscated
in or
near
schools.
Chief
Barren
said the
success
so far
is
partly
due to
his long
relationship
in law
enforcement
with
Chief
Mitchell,
as well
as the
diligent
work of
Assistant
Chief
Raymond
Fleming
and
other
officers.
Likewise,
Chief
Mitchell
praised
the work
of
Public
Schools
police
and
security
officers,
in
addition
to daily
contact
with
neighborhood
groups
such as
the
Walking
School
Bus and
the
Yellow
Jacket
Brigade
in
Detroit’s
North
End
community.
The
North
End is
bounded
by
Woodward
Avenue
to the
west;
the
Chrysler
Freeway
to the
east;
the city
of
Highland
Park to
the
north;
and I-94
to the
south.
Bridget
Vance is
a member
of the
Walking
School
Bus, a
group of
parents
who help
guide
young
children
to
school
-- one
assigned
block at
a time.
Speaking
at the
news
conference,
Vance,
who is
also
safety
coordinator
of the
Central
Woodward
/ North
End
Community,
welcomed
improved
cooperation
between
Detroit
police
and DPS
public
safety
forces.
She
called
upon on
more
volunteers
to join
local
efforts
to keep
schoolchildren
safe.
Student
safety
is worth
everything
it takes
to
increase
citywide
coordination,
said
Mayor
Cockrel.
“I’m not
only
Detroit’s
mayor,
I’m also
a
parent,”
he said.
“I want
to know
my
children
are
going to
be safe
and able
to learn
in a
safe
environment,
and not
be
concerned.
I know
every
parent
in the
city of
Detroit
feels
the same
way I
do.”
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