CRIME INITIATIVE TARGETS DETROIT'S NEIGHBORHOODS

Police Will Pour Into City's Troubled Spots

Detroit police plan to blitz a dozen crime-ridden neighborhoods in the next
few weeks, flooding them with officers and making arrests in an effort to
curb the violence that has left 13 children dead so far this year.

"We're getting away from the rhetoric," Police Chief Jerry Oliver said. "And
we're putting police on the streets."

Oliver and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced on Wednesday their latest
initiative -- Project Five Star -- on the lawn of True Love Christian
Ministries, in front of a crowd teeming with children, police officers and
community members.

Phase one has already begun, with the Police Department joining with the
community, including faith-based organizations and businesses, to identify
crime-plagued areas and problems in the neighborhoods, said Lt. Janice
Butler, a police spokeswoman.

"We want to change their attitude about violence," said Deputy Chief Ron
Haddad. Haddad will head the project. Businesses and churches are community
leaders and can no longer be indifferent, he said.

Using community input, 12 areas of the city will be targeted -- one in each
police precinct. The department will designate a pool of officers during
each blitz period, utilizing divisions ranging from mounted police to
traffic and narcotics. Haddad said the targeted areas might normally have
just two officers patrolling them.

For the next 45 days, the officers will focus on arresting people with
outstanding warrants, combating prostitution and curbing drug use. Haddad
promised Detroiters crime will be reduced by the end of August.

After the 45-day pilot period, the program will be evaluated and tweaked for
improvement.

Project Five Star is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative,
which calls for using federal law to prosecute any criminal who uses a gun.

City officials hope both programs will make Detroit a safer place for all
residents -- especially children. Project Safe Neighborhoods was spurred by
the rash of child homicides that occurred in metro Detroit during the first
half of the year.

Pastor John Anderson of True Love Christian Ministries said he was excited
about Project Five Star.

"Our No. 1 issue is cleaning up this area," he said, pointing to the
problems of drugs and abandoned homes.

As the toll of children killed in homicides has grown this summer -- leaving
behind grieving family and friends -- community leaders have been looking
for ways to stop the violence. Of the 15 metro Detroit homicides involving
children 16 and under -- 13 happened in Detroit.

A Free Press review in May found that Detroit's child homicide rate was
higher than that of Chicago, Los Angeles, and seven other major cities.
Detroit's homicide rate for children in the first quarter of this year was
3.5 homicides for every 100,000 children.

Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Duggan has attributed the rash of violence to
several factors, including drug turf battles and overcrowding in the Wayne
County Jail that results in the early release of criminals.

Project Five Star dispatched its first batch of officers in the 11th
(Davison) Precinct on Wednesday. Once crime is controlled in a neighborhood,
Oliver said he hopes community groups and social service agencies will do
their part to help rebuild the area.