Detroit Police Chief James White is set to meet with President Joe Biden in the nation's capital to discuss Detroit's significant drop in crime rates during the past year. Highlighting the city’s historical achievement, Detroit witnessed its fewest number of homicides in 2023 since 1966, as reported by FOX 2 Detroit. Detroit saw an 18% decrease in homicides, 16% fewer non-fatal shootings, and carjackings plummeted by 34%.
Chief White plans to thoroughly outline his 12-point plan which, according to a statement obtained by CBS News Detroit, helped massively to bring crime down in conjunction with law enforcement partnerships, resources from the American Rescue Plan Act, and a boost of 200 additional police officers. Efforts such as revisiting neighborhood footbeats and the implementation of "Walk A Mile Wednesdays" have also been part of the strategy to engage directly with the community.
Alongside the notable decrease in violent crime, the city has also managed to cut the gun case backlog by more than 50% across Wayne County Circuit Court and 36th District Court. Expressing the weight of this achievement, White told Patch, "We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are confident in our strategy." He affirmed his commitment to the continued push for lowering violent crime in Detroit with the sustaining support of federal partners.
Looking ahead, White's engagement with Biden will also cover upcoming plans to even further drive crime rates down this year. Intending to address mental health and juvenile crimes, the DPD is set to bring approximately 100 more officers onto Detroit streets, as per details released by the Detroit Police Department. Chief White expressed optimism about the future, stating, "We’re going to be uber focused on even driving crime down more this year than we did last year," in an interview with FOX 2 Detroit.
