Michigan Crime Rate Hits Seven-Year Low: Murders Down Over 40% Since 2021, Gov. Whitmer Announces
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced in Lansing on October 26 that the state's violent crime rate has fallen to its lowest level in seven years: murders are down more than 40% since 2021, robberies have been cut in half since she took office, and Operation Safe Neighborhoods has taken more than 1,000 illegal guns off the streets.
Since 2018, Michigan has invested nearly $2 billion in public safety, the governor's office said, including $100 million in Public Safety Revenue Sharing grants over the past two fiscal years, $25.2 million in community violence intervention grants, $2.5 million for a statewide gun violence prevention task force, and a 20% pay raise for Michigan State Police troopers and sergeants.
"Every Michigander deserves to feel safe in their home, their neighborhood, and their community," Whitmer said. "We've invested nearly $2 billion in public safety to put more officers on the street, support proven violence intervention programs, and take illegal guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them." She has also signed gun safety laws including universal background checks, safe storage requirements and extreme risk protection orders.
Col. James F. Grady II, director of the Michigan State Police, said troopers work alongside community partners every day and the investments are yielding results. Under Operation Safe Neighborhoods, state corrections parole and probation agents team up with local law enforcement on compliance checks of felony offenders; more than 11,000 check-ins have been conducted, and officers have also recovered illegal drugs and ammunition.
The governor's office said nearly one in three reported violent crimes in Michigan involves a firearm, and that the initiative builds on the MI Safe Communities program Whitmer launched in 2021. State Sen. Kevin Hertel and state Rep. Denise Mentzer also praised the results, saying direct state investment in local public safety is delivering tangible outcomes.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Lansing 的密歇根州议会大厦。照片：w_lemay，CC BY-SA 2.0，经维基共享资源。 / Photo: The Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Photo by w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
