- Detroit, which has one of the highest crime rates of large American cities, plans to close its police stations to the public for 16 hours a day -- including the critical overnight hours -- as the cash-strapped city struggles to slash costs.
Public-facing desks at the eight stations that represent the eight precincts or districts of the Detroit Police Department will be closed at 4 p.m. every day and reopen the next morning at 8 a.m. starting on Monday. It means residents could have a harder time immediately finding face-to-face help from the police during key hours of the day.
The moves are expected to lead to "virtual precincts" as the police department plans to redeploy desk-bound officers to more time on the streets during the affected hours.
Hey, we've already got POD cameras acting as "virtual police officers." "Virtual precincts" actually fits right in with the "less is more" concept.