Violent crime has ramped up in many urban communities. The COVID pandemic has had many impacts on the types of crimes committed, and the discretion of what crimes for which an arrest would be made or prosecution called for, as mindful steps were taken to adhere to social distancing measures. The results of the pandemic also left burnout and retirement amongst law enforcement and closed courts left backlogs of cases in the judicial system.
As some sense of normalcy begins to return, including warm weather, three years post the height of the 2020 pandemic, so does the continuing fight to combat gun violence.
In recent months and weeks, the nation has been riddled with mass shootings in stores and schools, and in recent days, back to back downtown shootings that alarmed businesses and visitors alike.
“We are going to ask our parents to join with us,” said Mayor Mike Duggan, referring to parents helping police to ensure children adhere to curfew. “(As it relates to crime) I don’t know why people do it in an area where you are 100 percent going to get caught.”
Recently United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison, along with Mayor Mike
Duggan, Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kym Worthy and Bishop Edgar Vann of the Second Ebenezer Church, announced a community partnership named “One Detroit” designed to reduce violent crime in the City through a program of crime prevention, services for the re-entry of returning citizens, focused law enforcement and other partnerships.
This collaborative effort of law enforcement agencies will be more than just about prosecuting crime but joining with community stakeholders to address ways to prevent crime and creating holistic efforts to address complex issues that contribute to crime.
Most prosecuting experts will say they lean heavily on their discretion on what cases to take on based on their belief or not that they can convince a jury to convict, whether or not there’s enough evidence in a case. The notion is, “you can arrest everyone.”
One Detroit is the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s comprehensive violence reduction initiative that links evidenced-based strategies with a coalition of stakeholders in the community, government and law enforcement.
The core of the joining effort is partnership. By bringing together leaders in government, the community and law enforcement and aligning their work, the One Detroit partnership will work to reduce violence through engagement, coordination and action.
The One Detroit partnership is an effort to restart the Detroit One initiative by instilling the lessons learned since that effort was announced 10 years ago.
One Detroit, like the earlier effort, includes aggressive investigation and prosecution of the relatively small number of individuals responsible for the most violence. But the One Detroit partners recognize that violence must be prevented and not just punished.
This new effort will also develop and foster community relationships, promote prevention and intervention programs and emphasize prisoner reentry programs that involve the community.
One Detroit plans to focus on leveraging the resources, skills and capacities of the program’s stakeholders to reduce crime and to make our residents and city safer.
A key aspect of this strategy is to boost efforts at crime prevention and not just prosecution.
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