Detroit leaders and police tout drop in violent crime statistics in 2024

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Violent crime in Detroit has gone down, according to city officials. On Friday, Mayor Mike Duggan along with federal and local law enforcement members got together and discussed the recent statistics that gave Detroit a safer record than years prior. 

One of the many lowering statistics is a monumental one: the fewest homicides since 1965. This has involved people making different decisions, partnering with federal and local partners, and the community getting involved in community violence intervention (CVI) groups.

One CVI group in one area saw a reduction over the last quarter by 83%.

"The reason we’ve been able to be successful," said Zoe Kennedy from Force Detroit. "We know not to throw our community members away."

 ‘Shot-Stoppers,' is a community violence prevention group which interrupts violence before it happens. In the six zones they overlook, violent crime has plummeted.

Here are the numbers:

Detroit saw 203 homicides in 2024, a 19% decline from 2023, marking the lowest rate since 1965. 

Non-fatal shootings are down 25%, with only 606 incidents reported.

"You see what happens when a system works together," said Mayor Duggan. 

Though some are critical of the city's methods, saying Detroit is approaching a ‘surveillance state,’ with all the overlapping cameras.

Meanwhile, the city credits catching things on video with substantial reductions in crime by touting the now-decade-old Greenlight Program.

"Businesses that join green light, they see the value of it, they pay to be a part of the program, but they’re still there," said Bettison.

What does Project Greenlight do in Detroit? 

The project is a chance for Detroit businesses to have surveillance cameras installed throughout their buildings, including a large blinking green light that tells possible criminals that they are being monitored.  

The project was criticized in 2023, when the DOJ's research arm, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), dove deep into studies to come up with ratings of effective or no effect - the latter of which means the program doesn't work. Those are the ratings the NIJ gave to both Greenlight and Ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Detroit says the program does work, showing an example of decreasing carjackings. Those crimes were down by 15% year after year, but are down 71% since the start of Project Green Light in 2015.

Chief Todd Bettison was also asked about how well the department is doing at solving murder cases, the so-called clearance rate. According to Bettison, that metric is 59% of homicides cleared. 

That’s the lowest it’s been since 1970 and is 9 points above the national clearance rate.