DETROIT – Officials reported on the ongoing violence reduction work being done by the One Detroit Violence Reduction Partnership and announced the work results as of Labor Day.
United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison, Detroit Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison, Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kym Worthy, and Detroit police Chief James White made the announcement on Thursday (Sept. 19).
One Detroit is a coalition of community and law enforcement partners working to develop and execute the best strategies to reduce violent crime.
Detroit finished the year with the lowest number of homicides since 1957 as a result of the work done throughout the city in 2023.
As of Labor Day 2024, Detroit has had 20% fewer homicides than last year at this time.
The reduction in non-fatal shootings is even more dramatic, with an almost 25% drop in non-fatal shootings. In terms of lives impacted, this means that there have been 182 fewer victims of violence in Detroit than there were at this time a year ago.
The One Detroit partners worked together to address violence during the summer months, focusing on the 8th and 9th precincts and the city’s parks.
The initiative began on Memorial Day and ended on Labor Day. One part of the effort was an enforcement strategy designed to prosecute the most violent individuals in federal court when that was possible.
The finding resulted in 23 cases being accepted for prosecution in federal court. All of those cases involved the illegal possession of firearms.
During the investigations of those offenses, 26 guns were seized. ATF has now analyzed those guns and determined that 14 of them were crime guns linked through ballistics to 42 other crimes, including non-fatal shootings and homicide.
The One Detroit partnership also prevented crime in the targeted areas through Peacenics, a collective gathering of the community and law enforcement.
They shared food, fellowship, and fun in the name of peace. The events featured 70 vendors offering a variety of resources, including job training, literacy programs, mental health and medical screenings, utility assistance, educational and vocational opportunities, tutorials, and career development.
The Peacenics allowed residents to have fun, engage with law enforcement, and obtain resources to improve the quality of their lives.
Thousands of Detroit residents attended the two Peacenics held in O’Hair Park and at Heilmann Recreation Center.
The One Detroit partnership also focused on reentry, which was designed to prevent recidivism by empowering returning citizens to become stable, contributing members of the Detroit community.
So far, more than 170 returning citizens participated in community roundtables intended to provide motivation and insight about taking advantage of second chances after a criminal conviction.
At the events, family members of probationers were also invited to participate in breakout sessions to discuss barriers to stability.
One Detroit partner assisted with employment needs and helped connect attendees with resources.
The One Detroit partnership will hold Community Huddles in the 8th and 9th precincts to report these results to the residents in the upcoming weeks.
The dates of the Community Huddles are:
- 8th Precinct, September 30th, at 6:30 p.m.
- 9th Precinct, September 25th, at 6 p.m.