Public Safety

OVERALL RATING

Nine hundred residents shared their views through telephone and online opinion surveys conducted in the first half of 2019. Key findings are summarized, including ratings for different aspects of life in Flint. Ratings are based on a scale of one to five, in which five means “very positive” and one means “very negative.” For more information about how the ratings were calculated, see Methodology.

THINGS TO CELEBRATE/
THINGS TO IMPROVE

This section highlights survey results regarding what’s working and what needs improvement. If a section of Focus on Flint does not include information about Things to Celebrate or Things to Improve, it’s because the survey didn’t yield responses to fit the categories.

ALSO HEARD

In addition to results of the opinion survey, Focus on Flint shares information that local nonprofit organizations and agencies have reported hearing from the residents they serve.

SUPPORT FROM MOTT

Support for the organizations and programs presented in bold text includes funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which produced this report. To learn more, visit the Foundation’s website, Mott.org.

FACTS & FIGURES

Each section includes data and statistics that illuminate strengths of the Flint community and highlight challenges. These facts were collected through opinion surveys of Flint residents; from city, state and federal agencies; and from local nonprofit organizations. The Flint surveys were conducted in the first half of 2019. Unless otherwise noted, all remaining data are from 2018.

DID YOU KNOW?

This section highlights organizations and programs working to address issues in the Flint community and provides information about how to connect with them.

THE ISSUE AND THE RESPONSE

Focus on Flint explores nine important issues facing the local community: Arts and Culture, Economy, Education, Health, Housing, Public Safety, Quality of Life, Standard of Living and Water. This section describes why each issue is critical to the community and summarizes work underway.

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps members board up a vacant home in Flint.

PHOTO: CRISTINA WRIGHT

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OVERALL RATING

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

THINGS TO CELEBRATE

  • Residents’ satisfaction with fire services

THINGS TO IMPROVE

  • Overall crime and safety
  • Street lighting

ALSO HEARD

  • Personal and property crimes have declined.
  • Efforts to improve neighborhoods have had a positive effect.
  • Despite passage of two millages for police and fire services, more resources are needed.

THE ISSUE

Rates of crime against people and property have declined in Flint, but they remain higher than in other Genesee County communities and the state of Michigan overall. While city residents in 2016 approved millages that provide roughly $5 million a year for police and fire services, that support has been partly offset by cuts in state funding to local governments. Today, public safety remains a top concern for many Flint residents.

THE RESPONSE

Neighborhood block clubs, community groups and other partners from Flint and beyond are working with local law enforcement to help improve public safety. For example, members of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps collaborated in 2018 with the City of Flint Police Department to address factors, such as blight, that can contribute to crime. That unique, eight-month partnership helped to secure over 670 vacant homes, remove more than 51,000 pounds of trash and connect residents with a range of community services. The result: overall crime rates in the targeted neighborhoods fell by an average of 8 percent.

 

Facts & Figures

PHOTO: SARAH SCHUCHCommunity members helped to clean up a vacant lot on Dupont Street, removing trash and planting flowers.

DID YOU KNOW?

Helping to reduce crime by eliminating blight is a goal of the Genesee County Land Bank’s Clean and Green Program. It provides community groups with at least $3,000 to help clear and maintain vacant lots and make other improvements in their neighborhoods. In 2018, those partners cared for more than 3,700 properties in the city of Flint.

CONTACT: Genesee County Land Bank, 810-257-3088.

 

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