Flint police partner with campus police to increase community patrols
FLINT, MI May 16 2020-– The city of Flint’s police department is reestablishing cooperative relationships with college police departments to increase community patrolling.
Mayor Sheldon Neeley made the announcement alongside Michigan State Flint Post Lt. Yvonne Brantley, University of Michigan-Flint Police Chief Ray Hall, and Mott Community College Police Chief Michael Odette on Friday, May 15. The partnership wasn’t renewed by the previous administration, according to the city.
Michigan State Police and the city’s police department have a longstanding relationship, according to Neeley. The mayor says crime overall is down but there have been two more homicides this year than happened up to the same point last year.
“Every single loss of life in our community is heartbreaking,” Neeley said. “Through the hard work of the Flint police and our renewed cooperative relationships with other police agencies, we are working proactively to do everything in our power to fight crime.”
Fourteen people have been killed in Flint as of May 14, “a small uptick” Neeley said from the 12 people who were killed by this time last year. There were 43 people killed in Flint in 2019.
A triple homicide and a double homicide increased this year’s total, according to the city. Other crimes, like burglary with or without forced entry, theft from a building and property crimes, are all down. The city has been able to reduce its response time to calls by an average of 40 minutes since answering to non-emergency calls over the phone, according to Neeley.
Flint Police Chief Phil Hart said the partnership was inspired after working with UM-Flint Police to find suspects related to the murder of Calvin Munerlyn. He was a security officer at Family Dollar who was fatally shot on May 1 for asking a costumer to wear a mask inside the store.
Flint police will work alongside campus police officers by sharing information and data. The departments will collaborate when assistance is needed on either end.
“These are well-seasoned officers who worked for agencies like MSP,” Hart said. “Together, we can get things under control as the weather gets warmer.”
Brantley, with MSP, said the partnership with Flint has been phenomenal. Hall, with UM-Flint, said he’s looking forward to working closely with the city.
“This shared service model by the current administration is certainly welcomed,” Hall said.
Neeley also worked alongside UM-Flint Chancellor Debasish Dutta and Mott Community College President Beverly Walker-Griffea to increase community patrolling in Flint.
