Flint is intending on increasing it's force over 14 more officers to approx. 270 officers for a city of a population of 120,000. That is just 5 officers shy of a city with 275 officers and over 200,000 citizens.

So while having almost twice the officers needed for a city this size. Response times are deplorable, attitudes of Police are terrible (I haven't had a raise in 8 years, turn it in to your insurance company, well what do you want me to do about it? ) We spend 29.1 million on a police force of 254 currently. Where a Police force of 275 receives 26 million. Does anyone ever stop to wonder how we can spend SO MUCH MONEY, and have SO MANY OFFICERS, yet still have an EXCESSIVE CRIME RATE in Flint?

We need some effective leadership in the Police dept. We need proactive crime fighting and not reactive. We need a "Jack Maple," "COMPSTAT," someone from outside this community that has no political ties to come in and make the city of Flint, do what is right, not do what is politically correct. Such as, blame it on poverty or lack of jobs, don't snitch t-shirts, liquor stores, pawn shops, junk yards, etc. Criminals are criminals, whether they have a job or not, whether they are poor or not.

Last but not least. We need accountability. Not just in words. But in deeds. Recently the Mayor in the state of the city address. Again, ignored the true facts and made up his own. "IN 2005, WE SAW MAJOR CRIME REDUCED. THE RATE OF CRIME ALSO WAS REDUCED. AND WE SOLVED MORE CRIMES IN 2005." While the TRUTH is that crime went up 12% in 2005 and 17% in 2004. Which is an abrupt change in a trend that showed crime was on the decline in Flint for TEN YEARS. (My apologies to mayor Stanley, however I did vote to keep him until his term was up.)