FLINT, MI -- Flint police say there’s no need for a major crimes task force that’s being called for by a state representative and candidate for mayor.

“The city of Flint Police Department for over 5 years has been in a partnership with Michigan State Police in a task force created to deal with violent crimes in the city of Flint,” Detective Sergeant Tyrone Booth said in a statement issued by the city.

“The Major Crimes Bureau is responsible for investigating felonious assaults, simple assaults and have done an outstanding job in bringing closure to cases. The city of Flint also works in partnership with several federal agencies that also aid us with dealing with violent crime in the city.”

Neeley on Thursday, July 11, called for the establishment of a major crimes task force in response to a string of deadly shootings this month.

Police are investigating three separate homicides that occurred in a roughly 7-hour period Tuesday, July 9, and Wednesday, July 10.

Additionally, police are continuing their search for two male suspects in connection with a Sunday, July 7 shooting in Flint that left five men and one woman injured.

Booth’s statement calls it "shocking that State Representative Neeley in his position as the representative for this district, is not aware that such a task force is already in existence. We welcome the opportunity to educate him more on city business and operations should he ever decide to actually reach out to us.”

Booth said the department credits a reduction in crime “across the board to the hard work that both the men and women on the Flint police force and our partners in various agencies have done.”

A city spokeswoman said Friday that she could not immediately provide statistics to demonstrate the across-the-board reduction in crime.

Homicides in 2019 in the city are down as of June 26 -- from 23 to 18 as of the same time in 2018, according to Michigan State Police.

Neeley said Friday that there’s been a 100 percent increase in non-fatal shootings in Flint in the first 10 days of this month and provided MLive-The Flint Journal with an MSP email that showed reductions in fatal and non-fatal shootings in Flint in May and June but an increase -- from five to nine -- during the first 10 days of July.

“If the city administration truly believes that crime is down, why does the mayor still have a personal security detail?" Neeley said in a text to The Journal.