Detroit sees a drop in homicides and violent crime, according to preliminary 2024 data
DETROIT– Detroit’s homicide rate has fallen to levels not seen since the mid-1960s, according to preliminary year-end statistics released by the city on Friday.
The city is part of a national trend of declining rates of overall violent crime in the US
Detroit ended 2024 with about 203 homicides — 49 fewer than the year before and the fewest in the city since 188 were committed in 1965, Mayor Mike Duggan told reporters.
Non-fatal shootings, assaults, carjackings and other violent crimes also continue to occur in the city.
“We have numbers that are nothing short of remarkable,” Duggan said. “I was the (Wayne County) prosecutor in 2002 and I remember the Detroit Police Department was celebrating the fact that we had less than 400 homicides for the first time and they said, ‘We never thought we’d see that number.’ And a few years ago I was mayor and we had fewer than 300 homicides.”
Overall violent crime in the United States is estimated to have fallen by an estimated 3% in 2023 from the previous year. according to an FBI report released in September. Nationally, the number of murders and non-negligent manslaughter fell by almost 12%.
Detroit, with a population of approximately 633,000 inhabitantsreported 309 homicides in 2022. There were also 308 homicides in 2021. The city had 261 homicides in 2018, the fewest since 1966, when there were 214 homicides.
The number of non-fatal shootings in Detroit dropped from 804 in 2023 to 606 last year.
“The change in this community in just a few years has been very special,” Duggan said of the fewer homicides and shootings. “These are not numbers. These are real people, especially young people in our community.”
The declines occurred across the board. The number of carjackings fell from 167 in 2023 to 142 last year. The number of sexual assaults also fell and 184 fewer robberies were reported last year compared to 2023. The number of burglaries, thefts and car thefts also fell.
Duggan credited the city’s partnerships with other local and state law enforcement and federal agencies.
He also credited programs like ShotStoppers, which provide federal funds to groups in Detroit working to reduce homicides and shootings. Reductions of 83%, 73% and 61% in some of the city’s most violent areas was reported last month.
ShotStoppers launched in 2023 and empowers activists and residents to use their own strategies to prevent violence. These strategies include teaching youth to think critically, improving educational opportunities for adults, drug prevention and disease elimination.
Detroit has also been hiring more police officers, adding 340 more officers to the city’s streets over the past two years.