Detroit Police Chief James White explains how the department has used $50M

DETROIT (FOX 2) - On Friday, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Police Chief James White both traveled to Washington, DC, for an audience with the President of the United States where they discussed how the city is using the $50 million from American Rescue Plan (ARP).

Chief White spoke with President Biden at the White House Friday and then made time for FOX 2's Roop Raj where he explained what they discussed. 

"I’m just humbled and honored to be representing the hardest working Police Department in the country and we talked about the Detroit;Police Department and their hard work and how they get it in day in and day out. We talked about how we are using the ARP dollars to train and for training facilities and for vehicles, and our CIT program. We talked about retention, we talked about recruiting officers but holding onto officers we have in Detroit," he said.

Duggan has already been able to put that money to good use by giving the police department $30 million. That cash has helped place officers in hot spots in the city, avert budget shortfalls, and ensure that each legitimate 911 call is followed up by an officer at the scene.

"We don’t want to have to lock folks up. But at the same time our citizens have a right to safety and we’re not gonna let anybody compromise that safety," he said.

Chief white says this summer he plans to Deploy real time analysis of where crime is heating up and has put together a comprehensive strategy based on lessons learned from last summer.

Drag racing is at the center of that. The chief promising to try to bring it to a screeching halt.

"We just took about 35 three wheelers off the street, and we’re gonna shut down seven chop shops so we will be out there in full force," he said.

Thos chop shops don't include the one that police found when responding to a completely unrelated call on the west side.