Tagged: murder

Voters in Flint sent a mixed message on public safety on Tuesday. 

 Mayor Dayne Walling was glad to see voters renew a millage that pays for more than a dozen police officers.  

 “I’m very pleased to see the voters have overwhelmingly supported the renewal of our police force.   The budget that was proposed to the city council…every dollar that we projected in that budget will now be able to be expected.”

Flint police believe there may be some link between the city’s more than 20 recent homicides.  And now, city officials are asking for the public’s help. Flint Mayor Dayne Walling set the tone at a news conference Tuesday about the recent surge of murders in his city by saying, "the killings and criminals must be stopped."

Flint’s murder rate is on pace to set a record. Last year, Flint recorded 66 murders, which was a record. The city already has more than 20 homicides this year. 

Flint Public Safety Director Alvern Lock expresses some frustration at the rising violence. 

“You know the only way we could stop a lot of these from happening is if we were standing on the corner when they occur.”

Lock says they have suspects or people charged in 14 of the 21 murders in Flint this year. He says police suspect a connection in some of the cases, but they can’t prove that connection right now. 

Lock denies that cuts to Flint’s police department have played a role in the increase in the city’s increase homicide rate. The city has eliminated more than 100 positions in the police department since 2008.

The Center for Homicide Research published a report on homicides in Flint. It concluded that Flint passed its previous record of 61 homicides (set in 1986) "in large part to a process of contagion."

In other words, once a homicide occurs, it can spark others, spreading like a disease.