“We’re going to remain transparent,” Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr., tells the Detroit Free Press. “If we take a dip in crime, I’m not playing the spin game, because there’s no spin you can put on someone’s life. If homicide numbers are up, I’ll let the community know. If shootings are up, I have no problem facing the media and talking to the community and telling them that, as a community, we’re losing ground.”
Godbee also says he is most frustrated about “the level of gun play — just how nonsensical some of the homicides have been. It’s unnerving to know that, in a moment of anger, girlfriends shoot boyfriends, relatives resolve family controversies with guns — a dispute over a parking space resulted in a homicide. Most gratifying has been the community response. People feel they can influence crime reduction in the city and that it’s a shared responsibility.”