To: Dale K. Weighill, Governmental Operations Committee Chairperson
From: Sheriff Christopher R. Swanson
title
RE: Approval of renewal of a grant award from The Mott Foundation in the amount of $1.2 million; this renewal allows the Sheriff's Office to continue providing police responses to a ten (10) square mile area within the city of Flint; the term of this grant is from August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2026
recommendation
BOARD ACTION REQUESTED:
Approval of a grant award from the C. S. Mott Foundation in the amount of $1.2 million.
BACKGROUND:
There continues to be a need for increased public safety resources within the City of Flint. Flint, our county seat, consistently ranks among the most violent cities in America. Due to dwindling resources, the Flint Police Department has been forced to take a mostly reactive posture related to crime. There are limited resources to target crime hot spots in a proactive manner. In June of 2022, the Genesee County Sheriff, in collaboration with the Mott Foundation, began a targeted crime enforcement initiative in the central business district and surrounding college campuses. This pilot grant program targeted an area defined as Robert T. Longway on the north, Dort Hwy. on the east, Dupont St. on the west and I-69 on the south. Since then, this targeted area has increased to cover the GM plants on VanSlyke and McLaren Hospital. This area is now approximately 10 sq. miles. This enforcement initiative allowed the Flint Police Department to redeploy to areas outside of the central business district and college campus areas and focus on crimes that are negatively impacting neighborhoods. During the 2024-2025 grant period the Genesee County Sheriff's Office average response time was 4.5 minutes. The Sheriff's Office has responded to over 15,273 calls for service, conducted 8,980 business checks, and 4,985 neighborhood checks. The Genesee County Sheriff Office also conducted 1,887 felony arrests and 3,568 misdemeanor arrests....
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