As of 2018,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

had the fourth highest murder rate among major cities in the United States after

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and the 42nd highest murder rate in the world. The rate of robberies in Detroit declined by 67% between 1985 and 2014 while the rate of aggravated assaults increased. As a whole, however, the city's crime rate has decreased considerably from its 1980s peak in the 20th century. In 2017, there were 267 murders in Detroit - down from 303 in 2016. The violent crime rate of 2,057 per 100,000 was the second highest in the nation after St. Louis and roughly ten times the average rate of the suburban counties of

metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...

which had violent crime rates below the national average of 394 per 100,000. In recent years some neighborhoods in the downtown area of Detroit have seen a significant decline in crime while the crime rate remains very high in most of the city and has a significant impact on daily life.

Current status

The

Detroit Police Department The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is a municipal police force based in and responsible for the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,500 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in Michigan. Histo ...

's Crime Analysis Unit has reported that crimes have dropped by 24 percent since the introduction of casino gaming to Detroit, Michigan., p. 103. The number of homicides peaked in 1974 at 714 and again in 1991 with 615. By the end of 2010, the homicide count fell to 308 for the year with an estimated population of just over 700,000, the lowest count and rate since 1967. By 2012, however, the murder count had rebounded to 411, with 386 considered criminal homicides. According to a 2007 analysis, Detroit officials noted that about 65 to 70 percent of homicides in the city were confined to a narcotics catalyst. In 2013, Detroit's number of criminal homicides was 333, a reduction of 14% compared to 2012. However, taken in context by population, Detroit remains a city with one of the highest homicide rates per capita in the United States. In April 2008, the city unveiled a $300-million stimulus plan to create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods, financed by city bonds and paid for by earmarking about 15% of the wagering tax. The city's plans for revitalization include 7-Mile/Livernois,

Brightmoor Brightmoor is a roughly neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, near the northwest border of the city.East English Village, Grand River/Greenfield, North-End, and Osborn. Private organizations have pledged substantial funding to neighborhood revitalization efforts. One of the issues that is not as extreme as murders and crime, but shows system-wide decline of basic city services is a large number of stray dogs roaming the streets. Fifty-nine Detroit postal workers were attacked by stray dogs in 2010, according to a Detroit postmaster. The city had faced many cases of arson each year on

Devil's Night Devil's Night is a name associated with October 30, the night before Halloween. It is related to the "Mischief Night" practiced in parts of the United States such as Philadelphia but is chiefly associated with the serious vandalism and arson seen ...

, the evening before Halloween. In the 1980s a number of residents noted that they had turned to arson of abandoned homes to keep drug dealers from using the empty buildings. The majority of citizen arsonists were never prosecuted or charged. The Angel's Night campaign, launched in the late 1990s, draws many volunteers to patrol the streets during Halloween week. The effort reduced arson: while there were 810 fires set in 1984, this was reduced to 142 in 1996. In recent years, fires on this three-night period have dropped even further. In 2009, the Detroit Fire Department reported 119 fires over this period, of which 91 were classified as suspected arsons. "Renaissance" has been the city's phrase for development since the 1970s. During the administration of

Dennis Archer Dennis Wayne Archer (born January 1, 1942) is an American lawyer, jurist and former politician from Michigan. A Democrat, Archer served as Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court and as mayor of Detroit. He later served as president of the Amer ...

, who succeeded Coleman Young in 1994, Detroit saw middle-class residents moving into the city, and growth in residential and commercial development, despite overall population decline. The city has improved in the early 21st century, making use of increased funding from the state to demolish condemned buildings. According to arrest records, as of 2015 many of the customers of illegal drugs and sex in Detroit originate from the suburbs. George Hunter of ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

'' wrote that "Detroit's underground economy mirrors the legitimate one: Both rely heavily on suburban investment."Hunter, George.
Sex, drug stings nab more from suburbs than city
(). ''

''. October 5, 2015. Retrieved on October 7, 2015. The largest number of suburbanites committing illegal acts go to areas of Detroit bordering suburbs. As of 2015 there is an element in Detroit culture against "snitching" or reporting criminal activity. On August 29, 2022, a 19-year-old male was suspected of opening fire on random pedestrians in Detroit, killing three people and wounding a fourth; a dog was also killed. He was arrested later in the day, and formally charged with murder and attempted murder.

Law and government

In 2000, the city requested an investigation by the

United States Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

into the

which was concluded in 2003, following allegations regarding its use of force and civil rights violations. From 2005 to 2006, the city proceeded with a large scale reorganization of the Detroit Police Department, reducing the number of precincts from twelve to six "districts." The stated purpose of this reorganization was to improve services. The reorganization and the city's search for a new police headquarters raised concerns within the Detroit Police Department which included overcrowding issues and increased response times. Michigan and Detroit economic squeezes sustained re-organizational impetus. Then Police Chief

Ella Bully-Cummings Ella M. Bully-Cummings (born 1958) is an American police officer who served as the chief of the Detroit Police Department from 2003 to 2008. Early life and education Bully-Cummings was born in Japan, the second-oldest of eight children of an A ...

(now retired) reassigned sworn officers from desks to squad cars, consolidating and reducing the number of precincts. In 2007, Detroit had been named the most dangerous city in the country by the

Morgan Quitno Morgan Quitno Press is a research and publishing company founded in 1989 and based in Lawrence, Kansas. The company compiled annual reference books of US state and city statistics. Its primary volumes included State Rankings, Health Care State Ra ...

report published by CQ Press Press, a private group whose report is denounced by the American Society of Criminology as an "irresponsible misuse" of crime data. The U.S Conference of Mayors and the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

have cautioned against using the Morgan Quitno – CQ Press report ranking cities as 'safest' or 'most dangerous'.

Homicides per Year

References

External links

Detroit Police Department official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crime In Detroit, Michigan

Current status

Law and government

Homicides per Year

See also

References

Further reading

External links