Good news on crime in Detroit

Just like this afternoon, when WXYZ provided me the videos so I could whine about the snow instead of tackling something serious, WXYZ and the Detroit Free Press served up some good news so that I could discuss something serious while still being in an "I can't be all DOOM all the time" mood.  Even better yet, it's good news about crime in Detroit, and it doesn't even involve Robocop.  Under the "if it moves, it leads" policy, WXYZ goes first with Detroit crime drops.


Follow over the jump for the numbers from the Free Press.

Homicides, violent crime down in Detroit in 2013, police chief says

She was one of Detroit’s 333 criminal homicide victims in 2013.

The total represents a nearly 14% decline in homicides from 2012, when the city recorded its highest homicide rate in nearly two decades — 386 criminal homicides. That didn’t include 25 homicides deemed justifiable by police, a figure that dropped to 15 in 2013, police said.
...
Detroit’s homicide rate last year was 47.5 homicides per 100,000 residents, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 population estimate of 701,475 residents. That’s a reduction from 2012, which saw 55 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Detroit police also announced today that non-fatal shootings and violent crimes are down, too.

Police said 1,161 nonfatal shootings occurred last year, compared with 1,263 in 2012. Also down from 2012: aggravated assaults, robberies, sexual assaults, carjackings, burglaries and stolen vehicles. Larcenies were up, police said.

Despite the drop, Detroit still recorded as many homicides in 2013 as New York City, which has more than 8.3-million residents. Chicago, with more than 2.7-million residents, had 415 homicides in 2013, according to published reports.

As I began saying very early in this blog's history, "great things are going to happen here...and I wouldn't want to miss them for the world!"  Lowering the crime rate, which was the number one priority of Detroit voters, is necessary for any of them to happen.

Also, this is the second time I've written about Chief Craig here.  The first was when he was interviewed by WXYZ and said that he wanted to extend the Dream Cruise into Detroit proper.  I'm liking Chief Craig more and more all the time and I only have one thing to say to him--keep up the good work!