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Agencies combine resources to target key schools and routes
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and Detroit Public Schools’ Department of Public Safety, along with several other agencies, are joining forces this week to protect Detroit students on their way to and from school," Sheriff Warren C. Evans announced today.
Starting today and running through Friday, officers will be conducting intensive patrols, investigation and enforcement in the area of key schools that DPS has helped identify as ones in need of special attention from law enforcement as part of Project Safe Passage.
"These are challenging times for Detroit and its school district. You can’t effectively educate children if they are too concerned about their safety to even show up for class," Evans said. "The goal of project Safe Passage is to create a safe school climate so teachers can teach and students can learn."
For the rest of this week, Sheriff’s Deputies, DPS officers, US Marshals, state corrections agents and others will be conducting the following types of patrols and enforcement:
- Heightened traffic enforcement. The Sheriff’s Office and DPS Public Safety Department will saturate areas in and around school zones with increased traffic enforcement. Traffic units will patrol major thoroughfares in school zones, as well as neighborhood streets where children and parents travel to and from school, as well as patrol school parking lots.
- Public Transportation patrols. In addition to its routine marked patrols, the y Sheriff’s DDOT unit will assign undercover officers to conduct frequent coach boardings and inspections on identified school zone bus routes during peak hours for children traveling to and from school.
- Sex Offender Home Checks. The Spot Check Unit, which is made up of Sheriff’s Deputies and Michigan Department of Corrections agents, will concentrate primarily on sex offenders, gun offenders and individuals convicted of violent offenses. This team of officers will identify all sex offenders and high-risk probationers and parolees that have a last known address in the vicinity of a Detroit Public School or on a school route.
- Narcotics & Prostitution enforcement. The Sheriff’s Office will target the street level drug and sex trades and will gather intelligence to execute search warrants on suspected drug houses in close proximity to schools.
- Fugitive/Violent Juvenile Apprehension. Working with the US Marshal Service and Wayne County’s Department of Children & Family Services, the Sheriff’s Office has identified and will attempt to arrest adult and juveniles for whom warrants or writs have been issued for serious offenses.
- Auto Theft investigations. The Wayne County ACTION (Arresting Car Thieves In Our Neighborhoods) Team will conduct surveillance in school zones known to have high incidents of stolen vehicles.
- The concept of school safety needs to extend beyond the schoolyard fence," Evans said. "We need to look at the issue globally and approach it from doorstep to doorstep. That includes asking parents to take an active role in surveying and establishing the safest route to school for their children and asking other citizens to be extra sets of eyes and ears for these students.
- The primary schools that have been identified for special attention and which will serve as base of operations for Project Safe Passage are Southeastern, Northwestern and Cody high schools.
Click here to view the "Safe Passage" four day stats.
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