Some Flint police officers are getting out from behind a desk today and getting back on the street.
Flint Police Chief James Tolbert calls it ”inside-out" – taking police officers who usually spend their day doing administrative work and putting them into a patrol car.
He says that adds nine to 18 more patrol cars on Flint streets at a time.
“I know we’ve made multiple arrests today,” Tolbert said on Friday. “We’re getting people with warrants off the street … you’re serving multiple purposes all at the same time.”
Tolbert plans to continue assigning desk officers to special enforcement operations one day a week. He says future operations will focus on high-crime areas.
The chief declined to comment on how "inside-out" may lessen the effect of the potential layoff of dozens of Flint police officers later this year.
The city recently learned a federal grant paying for those officers was not renewed.
