Flint Town

..... a decimated and demoralized Flint Michigan Police force struggling to cope with violent crime after the city's downward spiral into an epidemic of record-high murder rates.

The opening shows scenes of Flint as it was during the boom years and which began to crumble in the late 70's following the closing of the Chevrolet and Buick factories, two of GM's biggest plants.

At one time, Flint had the highest per capita income of blue collar workers in America. I know, because I lived and worked there for a while during its boom years. Businesses flourished and the nightlife scene, a sure indicator of disposable income, was New Year's Eve virtually every night.

The factory closings led to massive unemployment which in turn bred the violent and virtually uncontrollable crime rate. Neither City Hall nor the State Government succeeded in finding secondary industries to replace GM's closed plants. The drug industry boomed.

Due to the economic crash, the Police force shrunk from a high of over five hundred officers down to one hundred or so due to City Hall mismanagement, graft, incompetence and the misappropriation of the city finances.

The documentary reveals the problems and frustrations of the skeleton police force through the eyes of its Chief and various police officers who patrol streets of boarded up, condemned houses in poverty stricken, drug infested neighborhoods whose poorly educated residents seem condemned to never escape their toxic environment.

It's well done and worth watching.

Insightful, frightful and balanced. Netflix is offering a documentary everyone should see.

Rated from a documentary standpoint:

Plot: 10/10 Production: 9.5/10 Storyline: 10/10 Characters: 9/10 Setting: 10/10 Realism: 7.5/10

This is by far the best production I have ever seen. Hands down.

Unbiased, professional, and extremely appealing from a production standpoint (speaking of which, where do they find these people?). It does not immediately investigate the "water crisis" like one would likely expect. Instead, it communicates the real problem at hand, the hostility between a community and its cities officials.

This series does not stop there. It constantly holds your attention, refusing to be anything like similar series' where the same content is repeated episode after episode. The second a certain topic in "Flint Town" begins to sour a completely new position is introduced and examined - exactly how the media should be. This isn't about taking sides. This is about hearing every single voice in the community and determining what the best solution is to improve the level of comfort and safety felt in the community.

In satisfying this mission they complete another objective without any intention, leading viewers to the realization that maybe the government isn't 'really' out to get them - maybe it's really their fellow citizens.

Overall I must give this series a solid 10/10. Phenomenal from nearly all perspectives.

Raw, real, touching and addicting! This will stick with you long after you finish it.

3/20/18. This is a difficult documentary to watch because you have all of a sudden become privy to what police officers have to deal with on a daily basis in a somewhat neglected and impoverished town with way too many problems for its way too tiny police department. If you ever want to become a police officer, you should probably watch this to test your commitment. These officers are so totally dedicated to what they do that it's incredible what they have to put up with on a daily basis. While it is about Flint Town, it really is more about how its police department functions and how it deals with issues that are way above their heads. Their jobs are the hardest in the world.