The rate of violent crime in Detroit went down in 2022, fueled by decreases in robberies, rapes and aggravated assaults, Detroit Police Department Chief James White announced Monday.
The overall violent crime rate went down 11% in 2022, with the number of rapes falling 15%, aggravated assaults 11%, nonfatal shootings 10%, and robberies 7%, Chief White said in a press conference.
However, juvenile crime remained a problem in Michigan’s biggest city last year.
“We’re seeing teenagers as young as 14 and 15 engaging in violent crime. And it appears to be driven in large part by beefs and conflicts over social media,” Chief White said.
The city saw one more homicide in 2022, with 309 total, as opposed to 2021.
Property crime also increased in 2022, with burglaries up 19%, larcenies 21%, vehicle thefts 45% and carjackings 21%, according to police data.
Chief White said the number of DPD patrols will increase. “We know that you can’t arrest yourself out of crime. … You can also provide a layer of safety for this community through proactive, constitutional policing. … We’re not going to stand by and wait for every area to correct itself,” he elaborated.
On the ground, Detroit residents argue that, stats aside, violent crime continues to be a persistent problem.
“I literally do not think it’s safe at all. Us mothers are just burying our kids at a rapid pace,” Bertha Matthews, whose daughter was killed in Detroit in 2017, told WXYZ-TV, a Detroit ABC affiliate.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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