The good news out of Detroit is that homicides dropped to 333 in 2013, a 14 percent decrease over the previous year. New York City had the same number of murders last year, which is bad news when you consider Detroit's population in comparison to New York City's.
According to the Huffington Post, the Detroit Police Department is glad to see the murder rate fall, especially since Detroit's murder rate was the highest it had been in 20 years back in 2012. Overall, violent crime was down by 7 percent, a figure that included an 8 percent drop in non-fatal shootings and a 14 percent decline in sexual assaults.
Even with this progress, Detroit remains known as one of the most violent cities in the U.S., as well as one with a high rate of violent crimes per capita. Its murder rate equalled that of New York City, which is over 11 times larger, and is coming off historically low homicide statistics in 2013 (Mayor Bloomberg'sparting gift, let him tell it).
Another small positive out of Detroit is that it was able drop its crime rate the same year it filed for bankruptcy. That's not exactly balance, but Detroit should celebrate all victories. While its murder rate may be lower than it was in 2011 and 2012, law enforcement still has plenty of work to do.
[via The Huffington Post]
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