Homicides in Detroit have fallen to levels not seen since the mid-1960s, according to preliminary year-end statistics released by the Michigan border city.
The city is part of a national trend of declining violent crime rates across the United States.
Detroit finished 2024 with about 203 homicides, a decrease of 49 from the previous year and the lowest figure in the city since 188 committed in 1965, Mayor Mike Duggan said.
Nonfatal shootings, assaults, carjackings and other violent crimes also continue to decline in the city.
“We have just remarkable numbers,” Duggan said.
“I was the (Wayne County) prosecutor in 2002 and I remember the Detroit police celebrating the fact that we had less than 400 homicides for the first time and they said, ‘We never thought we’d see this figure.’ And a few years ago, I was mayor and we had less than 300 homicides.”
Overall, violent crime in the United States decreased by about 3% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to an FBI report released in September. Nationally, non-negligent murders and manslaughters fell nearly 12 percent.
Detroit, which has a population of about 633,000, reported 309 homicides in 2022. There were also 308 homicides in 2021. The city recorded 261 homicides in 2018, the fewest since 1966, when there were 214 homicides.
Nonfatal shootings in Detroit fell 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 decrease in homicides and shootings.
“These aren’t numbers. These are real people, primarily young people in our community.”
The reductions were widespread. Carjackings fell from 167 in 2023 to 142 last year. Sexual assaults also decreased and 184 fewer robberies were reported last year compared to 2023. Burglaries, larceny and motor vehicle thefts also decreased.
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 Detroit groups working to reduce the number of homicides and shootings. Reductions of 83 percent, 73 percent and 61 percent in some of the city’s most violent areas were reported last month.
ShotStoppers launched in 2023 and allows activists and residents to use their own strategies to prevent violence. These strategies include teaching young people to think critically, improving educational opportunities for adults, preventing drug addiction and eliminating the scourge.
Detroit has also hired more police officers, placing 340 more on city streets over the past two years.
