Fighting Crime the Low-Tech Way
With a plain car—no fancy cameras, hidden microphones,
or mobile high-tech vans—and
some equipment in its trunk, Detroit's 11th precinct is fighting
crime in its Weed and Seed area.
For several years, the police who work in the site have used Weed and Seed funding to lease two vehicles to use for surveillance. Being part of a large police force such as Detroit's can be beneficial for some things, but it can also mean that your precinct has to wait in line for other things, such as surveillance vehicles.
“We need tools we can put our hands on immediately,” said Sergeant Ron Gibson, whose primary responsibility is for the Weed and Seed site. If you are responding to critical situations, you want to have equipment in place every time you need it, he explained. Although the cars are inconspicuous on the outside, inside the trunks are cameras, notebook computers, crime scene tape, evidence collection equipment, and tactical equipment, such as bulletproof vests and weapons.
Sergeant Gibson and other officers have used the cars in various situations and with very good results. Working with the homicide division, the Weed and Seed officers have helped get information on people wanted for murder. Working as narcotics decoys, they have arrested numerous people who came to the car to buy drugs.
In a recent case, Sergeant Gibson and investigators were trying to find suspects whom they could identify by physical description only. The suspects, however, knew the police were looking for them and stayed out of sight, so the police pulled their marked police cars from the street and used the surveillance vehicles. The ploy worked; the suspects got comfortable and went out in the open, unaware they were being observed. The officers arrested them, and the suspects were then found guilty of armed robbery, assault with intent to murder, and felonious assault.
The cars have also helped police establish low-key relationships with neighborhood residents. In the densely populated Weed and Seed area, police can park the car, walk up to someone, and ask them questions “without the whole neighborhood knowing what's going on,” Sergeant Gibson explained. Police also have driven witnesses to court in the cars—one situation in which an unidentified car is much safer than a marked one.
The 11th precinct rotates the kinds of cars it uses every year to keep them from being recognized. One-year leases for two cars total just under $16,000.
Other Weed and Seed sites have taken notice of the 11th precinct's
success and want to adapt some of their procedures. The precinct's
policy of having crime scene investigation equipment at the
ready, for example, has inspired other sites to put together
similar “kits” for their detectives' cars.
For Sergeant Gibson, getting basic nuts and bolts instead of fancy gear has worked financially and practically. “This is a tool that we've really been able to use,” he said.
For further information, contact:
Sergeant Ron Gibson
313-995-2823
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