Lansing residents offer mixed reactions on police response

City Pulse asked: Are increased police patrols a good short-term solution to curbing the gun violence tracked this year? How should the spike in homicides be addressed in Lansing?

You answered:

“More police is good. The more presence the better. Encourage people to get their concealed pistol license and learn basic self defense. Security cameras. Businesses with consistent issues should hire security to deter.” — James Wilson

“It’s doubtful that police ‘presence’ is going to curb the homicide crime rate. I think that COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on people’s minds and an increase in mental illness is happening. People cooped up in their homes with nowhere to go and financial pressures are ountign along with an increase in substance abuse.” — Terry Chapman

“More cameras everywhere.” — Pamela Nelson

“A stronger police presence would not make me feel safer. A community center where my young siblings could go after school would make me feel safer. A non-police crisis team — social workers, mental health experts, de-escalation experts — on call 24/7 would make me feel safer. A stronger police presence is a scare tactic and a misuse of funds.” — Sam Stiles

“Start programs to help get people good honest work. When you have something to lose, you think a second longer about making a bad decision.” — Bryan Behovitz

“I would like to see police on bikes in the parks and cemeteries.” — Jayne Van Kirk

“Bring back community policing. Build a bond with your neighbors. Increased sensitivity and increased de-escalation training would help.” — Josie Vargas

“An increased police presence would probably only serve to intimidate innocent people” — Katy Joe Dee

“We don’t need more cops. Tensions are at an all-time high, and the coppers happen to be one of the catalysts at the center of that tension. You won’t diffuse this building tension between law enforcement and communities by putting more police on the streets.” — Searcy James

“If your goal is to punish those that commit gun crimes faster, then the answer is to add police. If your goal is to prevent these crimes from happening, then the answer is providing better access to community education, mental health care and drug rehabilitation programs. — Randy Holmes

“Increasing patrols is a generic solution to the lumping these homicides together. I don’t think increasing patrols is going to solve anything. It doesn’t make me feel safer.” — Larry Stegman

“More police. I don’t want to ‘feel’ safe. I want to ‘be’ safe.” — Natalie Mooney

“More police patrols along with ongoing reform in policing methods.” — Ann Schu