Oct. 2, 2009

Wayne County news briefs: Almost 80 nabbed in Detroit sweep

COMPILED FROM REPORTS BY MATT HELMS, CHRISTINA HALL, NIRAJ WARIKOO AND ERIC D. LAWRENCE

Police said Thursday that they have arrested nearly 80 people on drug and weapons charges this week, confiscating $26,000 in drugs and impounding 60 vehicles in a high-intensity effort to target a crime hot spot in northwest Detroit.

Under an effort called Project Crusaders, police worked with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service and other law enforcement agencies and city departments to flood a 3-square-mile area of the city where there are high numbers of violent and drug-related crimes.

In June, Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans launched the effort to use data to follow crime trends and zero in on high-crime areas. The blitz this week is the third since the program began, said Assistant Police Chief Lawrence Meyer.

The target zone is bordered by McNichols, Lahser, Pembroke and the Southfield Freeway, an area police said had seen a rising number of shootings, home invasions and armed robberies.

http://www.freep.com/article/20091002/N ... roit-sweep