Neighborhood Matriarch Keeps Community Safe

DETROIT (WWJ) - Some people say the key to solving Detroit's problems is more police. But others say the city needs more people like 80-year-old Delores Bennett.

A park in Detroit's north end is named after Delores Bennett, who is there every day to keep drugs, cursing and other nonsense out. The 80-year-old is fearless, and she has a lot of help, too.

"And I have spotters like her; she's a spotter," Bennett told WWJ's City Beat Reporter Vickie Thomas. "She can spot any trouble, you know, and then they tell me."

The spotter Bennett is referring to is only 10 years old. And, for anyone who thinks 10 is too young to fight crime, Bennett says the girl has been there since she was about four or five.

"Spotters can start from 4 years on," Bennett said.

The neighborhood matriarch looks after kids in the community, too, telling Vickie that she's even gone to the dope house to pull a few out.

For more on Delores Bennett and her efforts to improve Detroit, click here.