DETROIT – New numbers show how big of a problem the City of Detroit has with guns.
New data from the ATF shows 7,600 guns were recovered in Detroit in 2021, and while that number is startling, it also has a silver lining.
Detroit’s gun crime is an everyday occurrence, and it’s not until you unpack the numbers behind the crimes that you get perspective on just how big the problem is. That’s where we are Wednesday (Jan. 4) night.
Detroiters know well what the little yellow markers mean, which indicate shell casings from the latest shootout.
Constantly pleading for a stop to gun violence, Detroit police Chief James White regularly says things like this at crime scenes.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” said White. “Kids with guns, and you know you bring a gun to a party, and nothing good can happen, right?”
The bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms looked at Michigan and Detroit gun crime in 2021. Their data shows we had 12,324 gun crimes across the state, and the vast majority were in Detroit. More than ten times that of Flint. The next closest city Pontiac had 377 in 2021.
Detroit Crime Commission Chief Andy Arena looked at the numbers with Local 4.
“That’s a lot of guns that were retrieved in the City of Detroit last year,” said Arena.
The 7,644 weapons confiscated in crimes accounted for 62% of the total gun crimes across the state, even though the census told Local 4 the city accounts for only six and a half percent of the state’s population.
“Where did they come from,” Arena said. “Did they come from the suburbs? Did they come from out of state? But these guns were used in a crime or take out of a vehicle or taken out of a house, right?”
Still, Arena says there is a silver lining to what we’re seeing here.
“What it shows me is law enforcement, ATF-led task force, they’re out there doing their job, right,” Arena said. “They’re getting guns off the streets in the City of Detroit.”
“The ATF also says the vast majority of weapons used in these gun crimes were pistols,” Arena said. “The 9mm is the most often used.”
