'Not a celebration but encouraging': Record-low summer homicide report for Detroit

"This is not a celebration, but this is encouraging," said US Attorney Dawn Ison

Violent crime in Detroit is down, but not enough.

"You deserve to live in peace, just like everybody else does, just like everybody else does," said Ison, representing the Eastern District of Michigan.

Earlier this month, we heard Ison reveal summer crime statistics for Detroit, boasting a 21 percent decrease in homicides and 24 percent decrease in nonfatal shootings, from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Related: One Detroit law partnership announces 21% drop in homicides than last year

Monday night she shared those stats in front of residents of the 8th and 9th precincts - the hardest hit with crime.

"The numbers are going down, but it's because of her drive, her personal drive, that's why my concern is," said resident Beverly Kindle-Walker. "Once you're gone, particularly if there's a change in administration, the focus may not be on community policing,"

But Ison assured residents the One Community Movement is here to stay. That is a collaboration with Ison's office with local and federal partners targeting crime with prevention and federal prosecution, when applicable.

This past summer, homicide numbers stood at 68 just two years ago, that number was 107 now in the eighth and ninth precincts, and violent crime stood steady.

"Matching last year is not good enough, that's not good enough," Ison said. "Even when last year had a record low amount of violence, that's just simply not good enough."
 

Crime and Public SafetyDetroit