For years, violence has cast a shadow over Detroit. But now, a tangible shift is unfolding—one that reflects the collective power of the city’s commitment to a safer future.
As of Dec. 20, 2024, Detroit is on pace to break last year’s record low in homicides since 1966, dropping from 242 in 2023 to 200 in 2024 over the same time period, the Detroit Police Department confirmed to the Michigan Chronicle. Overall, that represents a 17.4% year-over-year drop in homicides.
The numbers don’t just tell a story; they speak to lives being saved and communities breathing a little easier. Non-fatal shootings have also fallen even further, down 24.3%, with 596 recorded incidents this year compared to 787 last year. These reductions are not abstract statistics—they are concrete evidence of change for families and neighborhoods that have carried the weight of violence for far too long.
This progress didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t come from conventional approaches to public safety. Community-driven programs, supported by federal investment, have been central to these efforts. ShotStoppers, a community violence intervention initiative funded through $10 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, has made an undeniable impact. This program invests directly in grassroots organizations that know their neighborhoods intimately and have long been working to heal their communities.
Groups like FORCE Detroit, Detroit 300, and Detroit Friends and Family aren’t outsiders imposing solutions. Simply put, they are insiders who understand the streets because they live there. They mediate conflicts, offer support, and create pathways for young people to choose a different future. In some of the most violence-stricken neighborhoods, their work has contributed to reductions in homicides and shootings by as much as 83%. Even areas beyond the reach of these targeted interventions have seen a 35% drop in violent crime, a testament to the ripple effect of community-led solutions.
The difference is in the approach. Straying away from merely surveilling neighborhoods or deploying more police officers; the approach relies on trust, resources, and relationships. Each organization involved in ShotStoppers receives a quarterly budget of $175,000 to support their work, with the opportunity to earn additional funds by meeting specific violence-reduction goals. This model centers the people who know these neighborhoods best, empowering them to drive change from within.
Detroit’s success in reducing violence is part of a larger shift in how public safety is approached in cities across the country. Former Police Chief James White played a key role in helping to reshape Detroit’s strategy before stepping into his new role at the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN). Under his leadership, the focus moved away from reactionary measures and toward a vision of safety that prioritizes intervention and prevention. Now, the question is whether this momentum can be sustained, especially with federal funding for ShotStoppers set to expire in April 2025.
“This is what happens when you combine excellent law enforcement strategy from the Detroit Police Department with excellent community-based prevention groups,” Mayor Mike Duggan said earlier this month. “These results show we have cracked the code in a significant way and now cities around the country can look to the Detroit model for reducing violent crime.”
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Michigan lawmakers are considering a $100 million Public Safety & Violence Prevention Trust Fund to sustain programs like ShotStoppers. Without this investment, the progress Detroit has made could falter, leaving communities to bear the brunt of disinvestment once again.
Detroit’s progress is not limited to community programs alone. U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison has been instrumental in the city’s broader efforts to reduce violence. As the U.S. Attorney for Michigan’s Eastern District, Ison has spearheaded the One Detroit initiative, which targets Detroit’s 8th and 9th precincts—areas historically plagued by the highest rates of gun violence. This program combines enforcement, prevention, and reentry strategies to tackle violence at its root.
“We have three pillars: enforcement, prevention, and reentry,” Ison told the Michigan Chronicle. “Our One Detroit partnership is our violent-crime reduction strategy. And it’s simply that all the evidence-based studies show that in order to reduce violent crime, it has to include punishment and prevention. Those are the most effective violent-crime reduction strategies, and it also has to include focusing on the right people. So, we’ve really been focusing on the drivers of violence—the most violent people, not everybody who possesses a gun.”
One Detroit has not only ramped up federal prosecution of gun crimes and gang activity but also engaged communities directly through initiatives like “Peacenics.” These events bring together thousands of residents annually, creating spaces for connection and collaboration that go beyond enforcement to address the deeper issues fueling violence.
“In addition to the prosecutors who are in the precincts with law enforcement, we have other prosecutors who go to the community relations meetings in the precincts, and they listen and engage with the community relations council so that we can just try to address other quality-of-life issues going on in those most violent areas,” Ison added. “You know, we don’t reach every single person. But reaching one, two, three—that matters. That matters. And so I am so proud of that.”
This commitment to listening and engaging with the community is a crucial part of what makes these initiatives successful. It’s not about imposing solutions from the top down but about working alongside residents to address the conditions that allow violence to take root in the first place.
The progress Detroit is making is proof that safety doesn’t have to come at the expense of community trust. It shows that when resources are directed toward people instead of punitive systems, real change is possible. But this moment is fragile. Without sustained investment, the hard-won gains of the past few years could be lost.
“I will always advocate that CVI is a necessary component of any urban safety ecosystem, and that full funding is crucial for CVI programs citywide. The social determinants of health and other sociological research suggests that community members are suffering from trauma due to divestment. Freer, safer Detroit neighborhoods will require a significant investment, but our Detroit residents are worth it,” said FORCE Detroit Executive Director Alia Harvey Quinn.
For Detroiters, this is not just about numbers; it’s about lives that matter—Black lives, family lives, neighborhood lives. It’s about the young person who might have been caught in the cycle of violence but now has a chance to build a future. It’s about the elder who can sit on their porch without worrying about stray bullets. It’s about mothers and fathers who don’t have to bury their children.
Detroit has always been a city that rises, even when the odds are against it. This progress is a reflection of that spirit, of the power of a community that refuses to give up on itself. But for this progress to continue, it must be supported. It must be sustained. Detroit doesn’t need to be saved; it needs to be invested in.
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