Detroit officials are reporting a “historic low” in violent crime, with a drop in homicides, carjacking and non-fatal shootings.
Preliminary data from the police department show Detroit ended 2024 with 203 homicides, a 19% drop from the 252 homicides the city saw in 2023. This year’s total was the lowest since 1966, when officials say there were 232 homicides.
Non-fatal shootings dropped from 804 in 2023 to 606 in 2024 — a 25% drop.
City, state and federal officials gathered at Detroit Police Headquarters on Friday to celebrate the numbers. Officials pointed to collaboration between police departments, a focus on mental health responses and an investment in crisis intervention initiatives as reasons for the drop.
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Dawn Ison said that prosecution has been a part of that drop.
“We know that prosecuting those who commit violence is an essential part of any successful strategy to reduce violence,” Ison said. “So we have been aggressive in our prosecution of those who are pulling triggers. But to truly succeed, we need to prevent crime.”
Detroit City Council Member Fred Durhal said these lows for carjackings, homicides and non-fatal shootings help address the stigma that has been attached to the city.
“When we hosted the NFL draft here in the city of Detroit, the question was, but is it safe in Detroit?” Durhal said. “And now we're starting to have the opportunity to answer that question, to say, yes, it is safe in the city of Detroit. And so that is why this is historic today. People are only as safe as they feel.”
Officials used the press conference as an opportunity to push for the Legislature to pass a public safety fund which would commit millions of dollars to funding community violence intervention programs and additional funding for police in Michigan. Right now, Detroit’s community violence program only has funding through this summer.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said there’s still work to be done in the city.
“One of the problems we've created for ourselves is that the freeways have become zones of danger in this city,” Duggan said. “If you drive the streets of the city, you engage in a shooting between green light cameras, business cameras, a ring, doorbell, cameras. There's a good chance we're going to find you. People have figured out the one camera free zone is on the freeways.”
The Detroit Police Department implemented a Drag Racing Detail which resulted in 115 arrests in 2024. Duggan said the city has already put up 25 freeway cameras and license plate readers and that there will be 450 total added by the end of the year.
