DETROIT (WXYZ) — An annual tradition with Detroit’s police chief is set to kick off Wednesday.
Walk a Mile Wednesday is back, and I got to hit the pavement early with Chief Todd Bettison in a neighborhood near Outer Drive and Schaefer Highway, where the first walk of the season will take place.
“I love it, being out amongst the people, getting a chance to be at your house. Oftentimes, when we have community meetings, we’re asking the community to come to us, but this is a chance for me to be on your block, your street, at your front door, and you get a chance to talk to me. And we have a whole bunch of community folks as well, and we bring city resources,” Bettison said. “And we just going to have a good time and it’s a way for Detroiters to get some exercise too… So, we feed you, then we walk and then we dance, and it’s going to be at Renaissance High School.”
May 2025 coverage: Detroit Police Chief Bettison continues Walk a Mile Wednesday tradition with community
Bettison says crime numbers continue to be down.
“My officers are doing an amazing job, and we work on prevention also because when crime happens, we’re going to do enforcement. We’re going to identify you and we’re going to be able to bring closure to the families. We utilize technology. I’m fully staffed as far as my department. I don’t have a retention or recruitment issue and so I hover between 97, 98, 99 percent fully staffed,” Bettison said.
As summer approaches, teens have been gathering downtown in what’s being called “teen takeovers.” The city of Detroit has made plans aiming to prevent issues for businesses and people downtown.
“Mayor Sheffield did something amazing,” the chief said. “They came right down to Hart Plaza, we identified a safe space for them to be. We had free food, we had a DJ, we had dancing. And so, we're giving our teens an alternative as well. So, it's not just about saying what you can’t do, but giving them a healthy outlet and making sure that it's safe.”
Related story: Detroit mayor to work with 'Teen Takeover' organizers to create safe gathering spaces
The city plans to host events for teens this summer such as midnight basketball.
The first Walk and Mile Wednesday kicks off at 5:30 p.m.
“We’re going to do a pre-workout. We’re going to warm up, get stretched because I don’t want any injuries out there,” Bettison said. “And it takes about an hour. We walk, we stop, we talk, we engage. The neighborhoods we go to, we try to make it better than we found it.”
