Crime in Flint, Michigan#Flint Police Department

{{Expand section|This section needs more information regarding events that involve the Flint Police Department. While recent events have been added, there is a gap in the time between 2016 and early 2025.|date=January 2025}}

The Flint Police Department (a.k.a. Flint PD or FPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in the city, led by Chief Terence Green. In recent decades, it has faced significant downsizing due to population decline and the ongoing economic depression in the city.

Between 2008 and 2010, mayor Dayne Walling reduced the number of patrol-level police officers from 208 to 67. The total number of police officer positions fell by 141, due to a combination of layoffs, resignations, and retirements{{cite news |first = Kristin |last = Longley |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/12/2010_a_difficult_year_for_publ.html |title = 2010 a 'difficult year' for public safety, Flint Mayor Dayne Walling says |work = The Flint Journal |date = December 17, 2010 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }}{{cite news |first = David |last = Harris |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/12/flint_police_officers_union_he.html |title = Flint Police officers union head: Response times expected to go up another 25 percent after layoffs |work = The Flint Journal |date = December 19, 2010 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }}

On September 28, 2011, the Flint Police Department was awarded $1,225,638 from the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to re-hire 6 laid off patrol officers. The officers were scheduled to be on the job starting in October 2011.{{cite news |first = Kristin |last = Longley |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2011/09/6_additional_flint_police_to_b.html |title = 6 additional Flint police to be rehired with $1.2 million federal grant |work = The Flint Journal |date = September 28, 2011 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }}

On June 18, 2012, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder visited Flint and announced additional state troopers would be sent to Flint and that additional state money would be provided to Flint for the city jail.{{cite news |first = Kristin |last = Longley |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/06/gov_snyder_in_flint.html |title = Gov. Snyder hopes reopening city jail, more state police will have 'major difference' on Flint crime |work = The Flint Journal |date = June 18, 2012 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }} Additionally, on the same day, state representative Jim Ananich proposed the Michigan State Housing Development Authority give state money from the federal foreclosure benefit fund to the Flint Police Department to hire more officers.{{cite news |first = Kristin |last = Longley |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/06/flint_lawmaker_requests_forecl.html |title = Flint lawmaker requests settlement money to pay for more police as Flint tops nation's violent crime list |work = The Flint Journal |date = June 18, 2012 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }} A month later on July 17, 2012, Ananich reiterated his push to secure those funds from the state. He also pointed out that scrap metal thefts are on the rise in the city, and proposed a portion of the $97 million fund be set aside to prevent them, which he claimed will also benefit the local economy by attracting new businesses to the city.{{cite news |first = Kristin |last = Longley |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/07/flint_lawmaker_pushes_for_publ.html |title = Flint lawmaker pushes for public safety funding out of foreclosure settlement |work = The Flint Journal |date = July 17, 2012 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }}

Flint PD's newest squad is the Crime Area Target Team, formed by Chief Tim Johnson in April 2016.[http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/04/new_flint_police_task_force_se.html New Flint police task force seizes guns, drugs, $18K in two-week period] The Flint Journal via MLive.com, April 26, 2016 It concentrates on combating the illegal narcotics trafficking and firearms trades. In February 2017, it confiscated $20,000 street value crystal methamphetamine, $20,000 street value heroin, nearly $10,000 worth of powder cocaine, $2,300 worth of crack cocaine, $30,000 worth of marijuana, $1,500 in psilocybin mushrooms, $1,500 of illegal prescription medications, and about $34,000 cash. This resulted in 126 arrests, 238 new felonies, 82 new misdemeanors, 22 felony warrants, 19 misdemeanors, 30 guns confiscated and 30 vehicles impounded.[http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2017/03/flint_police_drugs_guns.html Flint police CATT squad seizes guns, drugs and arrests 126] The Flint Journal via MLive.com, March 7, 2017

On January 15, 2025, it was announced that the Flint and Saginaw police departments are in discussion to implement new adjustments to the "Secure Cities Partnership" with the Michigan State Police that has been in place since 2012. Currently, 28 state police personnel have been assigned to work in Finch. Although Flint Police Detective Sergeant Tyrone Booth has declared that "we do not anticipate any changes to our violent crime task force, which consists of personnel from the City of Flint Police Department and Michigan State Police troopers.", some reports indicate the partnership may be ending and residents have expressed concerns over it.{{Cite web |last=Camp |first=Terry |date=2025-01-15 |title=MSP informs Saginaw, Flint police departments Secure Cities Partnership being 'adjusted' |url=https://www.abc12.com/news/msp-informs-saginaw-flint-police-departments-secure-cities-partnership-being-adjusted/article_cd07665a-d38c-11ef-ad0c-83c57873ddca.html |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=ABC 12 WJRT-TV |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Waterman |first=Cole |date=2025-01-16 |title=Changes to State Police Secure Cities partnership under discussion |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2025/01/changes-to-state-police-secure-cities-partnership-under-discussion.html |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=mlive |language=en}}

The Flint Police Department was featured in a 2015 episode of TNT's Cold Justice: Sex Crimes, which paid to test old rape kits that resulted in convictions of three people for criminal sexual conduct.[https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/08/three_men_charged_in_flint_cas.html 'Cold Justice: Sex Crimes' TV show results in charges against Flint trio] The Flint Journal via MLive.com, August 25, 2015

The Flint Police Department appeared in four episodes of the 31st season of the reality show Cops, aired in mid 2018 and early 2019.[https://nbc25news.com/news/local/flint-pd-featured-on-cops Flint PD featured on network series COPS] NBC25 (WEYI-TV)][https://nbc25news.com/news/local/flint-featured-on-copsagain Flint featured on COPS --again] WEYI-TV (NBC 25), January 11, 2019 The episodes were titled "Three's Company", "Out the Window", "Slow and Low", and "Spinning Out".

The Flint Police Department (and the Flint water crisis) is also the subject of the eight-part 2018 Netflix documentary Flint Town, which was recorded in 2016.[https://www.newsweek.com/flint-town-netflix-police-michigan-documentary-series-episodes-839497 In ‘Flint Town,’ New Netflix Documentary Series, Policing Problems Are More Than Good Cop, Bad Cop] Newsweek, March 9, 2018

{{update section|date=November 2019}}

The following statistics are derived from the annual Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports.{{cite web |title = UCR Publications |url = https://ucr.fbi.gov/ucr-publications |publisher = Federal Bureau of Investigation |access-date = December 27, 2016 }}[https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2018/09/flint_is_sixth_most_violent_ci.html Flint violent crime rate up 23 percent, new FBI stats show] The Flint Journal via MLIve.com, September 24, 2018

Flint has been consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States by multiple sources.{{cite news |first = Lori Jane |last = Gliha |url = http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/america-tonight-blog/2013/10/24/growing-up-in-americasmostdangerouscityflint.html |title = Growing up in America's most dangerous city, Flint |publisher = Al Jazeera |date = October 24, 2013 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }}{{cite news |url = http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2011/05/24/the-most-dangerous-city-in-america/ |title = The most dangerous city in America |work = Market Watch |date = May 24, 2011 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }}{{cite news |first = David |last = Harris |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/04/forbes_magazine_ranks_flint_si.html |title = Forbes Magazine ranks Flint sixth most dangerous city for women in the nation |work = The Flint Journal |date = April 27, 2012 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }}{{cite web |url = http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/14/despite-recent-shootings-chicago-nowhere-near-u-s-murder-capital/ |title = Despite recent shootings, Chicago nowhere near U.S. 'murder capital' |last1 = Desilver |first1 = Drew |date = July 14, 2014 |website = FactTank |publisher = Pew Research Center |accessdate = August 28, 2014 |quote = According to the FBI figures, Flint, Mich., had the highest murder rate of any sizeable U.S. city in 2012, the most recent year available. There were 62 murders per 100,000 population (which, coincidentally, was just about Flint's estimated population that year). }}{{cite web |url = http://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-cities-in-america-2013-6#1-flint-mich-25 |title = The 25 Most Dangerous Cities In America |work = Business Insider |date = June 13, 2013 |access-date = December 27, 2016 }} From 2007 to 2009, violent crime in Flint was ranked in the top five among U.S. cities with a population of at least 50,000 people.{{cite news |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/09/fbi_statistics_show_flint_four.html |work = The Flint Journal |title = FBI statistics show Flint fourth most violent city in America |date = September 17, 2010 |first = David |last = Harris |accessdate = October 19, 2010 }} From 2010 to 2012, Flint ranked as the city with the highest violent crime rate among cities with over 100,000 population.{{cite news |first = David |last = Harris |date = February 19, 2014 |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/02/flint_loses_the_title_of_fbis.html |title = Flint no longer most violent city in America, according to new FBI crime stats |work = The Flint Journal |access-date = December 27, 2016 }} In 2015, CQ Press (using FBI statistics) ranked the crime index for Flint as 7th-highest in cities with population greater than 75,000.{{cite web |url = http://data.sagepub.com/sagestats/document.php?id=6373 |title = Crime Rate Rankings (City) |publisher = Sage Stats |access-date = December 27, 2016 }}

{{Update|section|date=August 2021}}

Unsolved crimes remained high in Flint. In 2008, only 19 of 32 homicides resulted in convictions; in 2009, only 12 of 36 homicides led to conviction; and, in 2010, only 31 of 64 homicides led to conviction.{{cite web |url = http://www.chronline.org/Flint%20Michigan%20Research%20Report.pdf |title = Analysis of Flint Homicides |author = ((Drake, Proskin, & Crain)) |publisher = Center for Homicide Research |accessdate = December 31, 2010 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110725165229/http://www.chronline.org/Flint%20Michigan%20Research%20Report.pdf |archivedate = July 25, 2011 }}

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Category:Crime in Michigan

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