How High Tech And Quick Police Action Are Cutting Crime In Midtown

For more than two years, Wayne State University Police, a group of academics and law enforcement officials have been meeting every two week to pinpoint where in Midtown crime is happening, who might be committing it, and how best to deploy officers to keep offenders at bay. Since 2008, officers say crime in the popular Detroit neighborhood has fallen by more than one-third.

According to Megha Satyanarayana of the Free Press, every other Thursday, the WSU police station on Cass and Burroughs Avenues is filled with officers -- from Wayne State, Detroit Police, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department and the Michigan Department of Corrections. 

Wayne State officers work with Detroit Police on car theft issues and with the Sheriff's Office on drug issues, among other things. Parole officers from MDOC work with Wayne State on identifying possible suspects in crimes and reporting on parolees and probationers in the area.

"We're trying to keep crime low, so people will move into this area," said Wayne State Police Capt. Emery Burk, who coordinates officers and investigations. "Businesses wouldn't come if they didn't have the clientele for their business to flourish."