Detroit’s streets are rewriting their narrative. In neighborhoods once defined by violence, where gunshots echoed like a grim refrain, change is now visible in real time. Numbers don’t lie, and Detroiters are witnessing what happens when community-based strategies meet intentional investment. Groups funded by ShotStoppers—Force Detroit, Detroit 300, Detroit Friends and Family, and New Era Community Connection—are delivering results that even skeptics can’t ignore: up to an 83% reduction in homicides and shootings in some of the city’s most violent areas.
This transformation didn’t happen in isolation. It came from the ground up, led by activists who live and breathe Detroit’s challenges, from its blight-stricken blocks to its underserved youth. These groups are part of the city’s Community Violence Intervention (CVI) zones, focusing on areas once synonymous with homicides and shootings. Their success is reshaping what safety looks like for families across the city.
Mayor Mike Duggan recently shared the latest metrics, and the numbers are striking. Between August and October, the CVI zones saw violent crime drops ranging from 61% to 83% compared to the same period in previous years. Even areas outside these zones saw a 35% decline, proving that the ripple effects of community-driven intervention go beyond borders. For Detroit, this is more than a statistic—it’s a lifeline.
One of the voices behind this change is Ray Winans, founder of Detroit Friends and Family. His work centers on listening to those most impacted by violence. “It’s not so much what we say to them. It’s more so what we hear from them,” Winans said. For him, the approach isn’t about traditional leadership but about being an example. “We know our stories and support them while they are going through theirs.”
Winans’ team focuses on mediation, both within the community and inside institutions like jails and juvenile facilities. By addressing conflict at its source, they’ve shown what’s possible when trust replaces tension. Their efforts have turned the far northeast side of Detroit into a zone where gunfire is no longer the norm.
Residents like Tamica Nixon have felt the shift firsthand. “There were so many gunshots you would think that’s the type of things you would hear in a war,” Nixon said at a church gathering where Duggan announced the program’s progress. Now, she says, “Everything has really improved. It’s safer.”
The strategies behind ShotStoppers aren’t complex—they’re rooted in understanding. From mentoring young people to addressing drug prevention and cleaning up neglected neighborhoods, these initiatives are about meeting the needs of the community head-on. Police alerts notify groups when shootings occur, giving them the opportunity to prevent retaliations, which Duggan says are often imminent. “Because an hour later there will be a retaliation,” Duggan said. “The key is getting people to make different decisions.”
These decisions are saving lives. Detroit’s annual homicide rates are now at their lowest levels since 1966. In 2023, the city recorded 252 homicides, down from 309 in 2022 and 323 in 2020. Nonfatal shootings have also dropped, with 804 reported in 2023 compared to 955 the previous year. ShotStoppers is one piece of this larger puzzle, alongside the hiring of 200 new police officers and improved coordination between city, county, and state agencies.
What sets this program apart is its emphasis on community. Unlike ShotSpotter—a gunshot detection technology dropped by cities like Chicago for its ineffectiveness—ShotStoppers centers on human connection. The city invested $10 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to fund the initiative, starting each group with a $175,000 quarterly base budget and awarding bonuses to those that significantly cut violence.
Still, federal funding is set to expire in April. Without additional resources, the future of ShotStoppers hangs in the balance. Michigan lawmakers are considering a $100 million Public Safety & Violence Prevention Trust Fund, which could sustain the program and allow Detroit to expand it by adding two more groups. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Detroit’s success with ShotStoppers proves that public safety isn’t just about policing—it’s about people. It’s about leaders like Winans, who step into the lives of young people and offer them a different path. It’s about families like Nixon’s, who no longer live in fear. It’s about neighborhoods reclaiming their sense of security and pride.
There’s a lesson here for cities across the country. The answers to America’s violence epidemic won’t come from more surveillance or heavier enforcement. They’ll come from investing in the people who know their communities best. Detroit is showing what’s possible when those on the frontlines are empowered with the resources they need.
As Nixon put it, “Everything has really improved now. It’s safer.” That’s the power of listening to the community and giving them the tools to lead the change they want to see. The fight isn’t over. Advocates are making their voices heard in Lansing, urging lawmakers to secure the future of programs like ShotStoppers.
Detroiters have already proven what’s possible. The question now is whether the system will follow through. What happens next will determine if this moment of progress becomes a lasting legacy or just another fleeting success story. Detroit’s communities are watching—and they’re not going back.
