White House official 'excited' seeing how American Rescue Plan funding used to combat crime in Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - It is a Detroit achievement that one White House official said she wants to spread across the country. 

"The job is not done until the public is safe everywhere," exclaimed White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden on Wednesday in Detroit. 

The city has been under the radar of federal officials after major investments were made through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Tanden joined Detroit Police Chief James White and Mayor Mike Duggan for a tour of the Detroit Police Department's new helicopters, scout cars, and the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), which was funded by the ARPA to combat crime. 

During a press briefing, Duggan delved into the achievement of having the fewest homicides and violent crime statistics in Detroit in 2023 since 1966, which he said is thanks to these brand-new systems.

"This year, the number will be much lower than last year," Duggan said. "And that's because we all work together." 

Some examples Duggan used included the use of new helicopters to locate and stop illegal drag races and ensure a safer way of catching criminals by avoiding high speed chases that put people on the ground at risk of getting hurt. He later mentioned the investment of new highway cameras to capture drive-by shootings when they occur. 

The mayor then introduced Tanden, who said the best way to fight crime is to use state-of-the-art technology that is "more advanced than what the criminals have." She said she was happy seeing how the funding has been spent in the City of Detroit since the bill was passed in 2021. 

"Detroit has really led the way in effectively using those dollars," she said, talking about the ARPA. "So I was so excited this morning to see the state-of-the-art training facility, that is using American Rescue Plan dollars to really modernize the training facility, which will serve so many people and really cutting edge work using technology computers to ensure that the DPD has the best trained police force in the country."

Earlier in September, US Attorney Dawn Ison revealed summer crime statistics for Detroit, boasting a 21% decrease in homicides and 24% decrease in nonfatal shootings, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. 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.

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

Duggan wrapped the conference by telling the press to keep an eye on the next quarterly community violence intervention (CVI) report which will be out in two weeks. 

"They are going to show historic drops in violence," he said. 

You can watch the full press briefing below: