City Spokesman Responds to Officer's Opinion

Below is an editorial/opinion response by the City of Flint written in The Flint Journal Monday, March 12, 2007. This article is in response to an opinion written by Officer Randolph Tolbert concerning one man patrols. An earlier post and Officer Tolbert's article can be viewed by clicking here.

Which opinion has the most credibility? Well, I have a long held belief that if you want to know the most about any job ask the man or woman actually performing that job. Officer Tolbert has 21 years of experience in many areas of law enforcement. Mr. Conroy has no law enforcement experience that I am aware of. This situation lends much more credence to the opinion of Officer Tolbert.

The studies referenced by Mr. Conroy seem, at first glance, to be persuasive. However, remember that the decision to go to one-man patrols was made in such haste that on the first night of implementation there were not enough vehicles. This indicates that there obviously was no time taken to review the national studies in San Diego and Houston.

I also find it very interesting that Mr. Conroy responded to Officer Tolbert's article rather than the Acting Chief-of-Police. I wonder why that is.....

One-officer cars safe, working

National studies in San Diego and Houston indicate that one-­officer police cars are safe for police officers. However, it is incumbent on the individual police officers to ensure they uti­lize their training and experience to employ proper safety precau­tions. This will increase their safe­ty and the safety of the citizens.

In the six months that the Flint Police Department has utilized one-officer patrols for police offi­cers that have graduated from the police department field training program, we find that response time for 911 calls has been quicker. There is also a significant increase in the number of patrol units on the street at any one time. Another benefit of one-officer patrol cars is that the department does not have two officers tied up on calls where only one officer is needed, such as calls for minor crimes where there is no perpetrator present.

The public should also know that in the entire history of the flint Police Department, one-­officer patrol units have been deployed; the Flint Police Depart­ment has just increased their usage. Before the current adminis­tration, the police fleet did not have the vehicles necessary to deploy one-officer patrol units. With prop­er fleet management, the current administration has been able to purchase 65 new patrol units. The newly purchased vehicles triple the amount of police coverage possi­ble, allowing the police department to more adequately provide police service to our community. We value our officers, however, they must take responsibility for utilizing their training to ensure they pro­tect their safety and the safety of the citizens of Flint.

Joe Conroy Flint governmental
operations director