DETROIT – As crowds have been gathering in Detroit’s Greektown on the weekends, there has been a push to crackdown on the violence that has also increased recently in the area, Click on Detroit reported on June 12.

“Police were back out in full force in Greektown Saturday night, making sure that people are having fun, but also being safe,” Click on Detroit reported, adding that “interim Detroit police chief James White made several stops throughout Detroit Saturday, from Rouge Park to Greektown.”

“Just seeing how things are going, making sure our plans are being executed, that we got officers visible and on patrol,” White told Click on Detroit.

The effort is “a part of Detroit Police Department’s new Five Point Safety Plan” Click on Detroit reported, noting that “they’re fighting violence in parts of the city that need much attention – like Greektown, especially after several brawls happened in the area multiple weekends in a row.”

White told Click on Detroit, that it is “summer crowd management. We’re going to move as needed throughout the city, where the crowds will go, that’s where we’ll go.”

White also told Click on Detroit that “his officers are tracking down any illegal activity.” “The extra security presence is welcomed by many, especially Dino Kradiamos, the owner of The Greek Restaurant and Level Two Rooftop,” Click on Detroit reported.

“Great, it’s a great idea,” Kradiamos told Click on Detroit, adding that “it’s nice, because it keeps the street clean.”

When asked if the extra officers will prevent violence, White told Click on Detroit, “I don’t know if you can prevent it. I mean certainly, as I talked about, we want to have officers in the area that are visible and make sure people have a good time. If you’re going to visit our city, do so respectfully.”

On June 11, “Greektown was packed… with people wanting to have some weekend fun, but more Detroit police officers were out riding and walking around,” Click on Detroit reported, adding that members of Detroit 300 [a community anti-crime patrol] were also in Greektown on Friday.”

Brittany Rogers told Click on Detroit that “she thinks the extra security is necessary.”

“I hear on the news so much about how many people are getting into fights and shootings,” Rogers said, Click on Detroit reported.

“The new safety plan, called ‘Greektown Crackdown,’ was launched to stop the violence,” Click on Detroit reported, noting that “besides more officers, there’s a zero tolerance policy for any type of illegal activity in Greektown. The streets are also being shut down to control the crowd flow.”

Cayla Tutt witnessed one of the weekend fights, and told Click on Detroit that “it was a mess. It started from just a man who was just drunk in the bar. He got kicked out. And then, I think, he approached somebody, who was just sitting, eating his food and it turned into a whole ordeal.”

Melanie Markowicz of the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership said that “the new safety plan is needed,” Click on Detroit reported.

“Our neighborhood, the Greektown Neighborhood, is in full support of the Detroit Police Department’s five-point crowd management plan. We were happy to partner with them to work on all of the kind of challenges we’re seeing downtown and across the city,” Markowicz told Click on Detroit.

When asked if he feels safe, David Brown told Click on Detroit that “yeah, I feel safe. Yes. I love the city. Yeah, I feel good.”

Detroit police said that “they might seize cars as well if anyone is caught doing something wrong,” Click on Detroit reported.