DETROIT – If you’re a proud Detroiter, you probably bristle every time you hear or read about national crime statistics with the city way too close to the top of a very bad list.
That’s why last week’s new crime numbers were welcomed so warmly. Right now, Detroit is on pace to record the lowest number of homicides since 1966. Now it’s not fair to say that the crime rate has improved since then.
Detroit has less than half the population it had in 1966, so per capita, the incidence of crime is still higher than 57 years ago -- but let’s just measure it against current trends. It is worth a drill-down to figure out why the murder total is down 18% from last year. Non-fatal shootings are down 13%, and carjackings are down 36%.
We’ll also talk about something that quite notoriously doesn’t work well in Southeast Michigan and that’s mass transit. Recently, Detroit attorney and educator Michael Griffie wrote a lengthy piece for the Detroit free press, arguing that if we want young people to stay in Michigan or move to Michigan, this is something we have to finally get right. About a week later, Dan Gilbert made the same argument.
Is there a new energy behind it, or are we still set in the same old rut?
You can watch the Dec. 10, 2023, episode of Flashpoint in the video player above.