DETROIT (WXYZ) — The city of Detroit is on track to count fewer homicides this year than it has in nearly 60 years.
Data as of November 30th shows the City of Detroit has seen an 18% reduction in homicides when compared to the first 11 months of 2022.
The city says this is a result of the implementation of a gun violence reduction partnership that was set in motion in 2021 following a nationwide increase in violent crime due to the pandemic.
"One less death saves a life for an entire family. The impact of violent crime in our community is something that we see every day whether it's retaliatory crime or PTSD that goes unaddressed in our community," said Detroit Police Chief James White.
The partnership includes city, county, and state law enforcement agents including the Detroit Police Department, several judges, and the Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy.
"We still have a lot more work to do but I feel more confident than ever that we're going to get it done," said Worthy at a press conference Monday.
The city says in addition to reductions in homicides, there was a 36% reduction in carjackings and a 13% reduction in nonfatal shootings.
Law enforcement agents say the reason the gun violence reduction partnership produced so many results is because it allowed them to work collaboratively to process a massive backlog of felony gun cases. The count says there were more than 4,000 felony gun cases pending trial in Wayne County Circuit Court in January 2022. That number has now been reduced by 67% meaning around 1,330 gun cases remain. They were also able to reduce felony gun cases backlogged in 36th District Court by 80%.
The partnership also included DPD deploying their 12-point safety plan, more collaboration between agencies, and more staffers for Wayne County Prosecutor, Sheriff, and DPD.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office says they also were able to strengthen tether restrictions for offenders.
"I see a police presence every day, every night. I'm not afraid to go in my house or come in late at night," said Kathleen Spain who lives in Detroit. "Over the past year, it has been noticeable that the crime rate is down. It's not an everyday occurrence."
The city says they are taking a multi-layered approach which includes prevention methods like working with community partners and use of tools like ShotSpotter.
"I grew up in the 48228. I lost over 20 friends to gun violence. I went to prison for over 15 years for gun violence, even tho it wasn’t intentional," said Dujuan Zoe who is the community organizer and public health and safety specialist for Force Detroit.
Force Detroit is a community organization. A part of their work and mission is to prevent community violence by way of intervention.
"I'm proud of us as a city," said Zoe. "Detroit is a predominantly Black city so that means when it's a reduction in homicides that means more of us are living."
City leaders say as they prepare to add even more officers to the street, they look forward to even lower numbers next year.
"I think it's phenomenal. I think that it's still a lot of crime going on and I think that the police by themself cannot just solve the crimes. I think we as a group of people have to participate in it and work together among the communities," said local business owner Larry Swygart.
