'Steep reductions' in killings and shootings claimed in areas served by Detroit anti-violence initiative

Detroit — Areas of Detroit handled by two community groups under the city's Shot Stoppers anti-violence initiative saw "steep reductions in homicides and shootings" during the program's second quarter, city officials said Tuesday.

Last year, Mayor Mike Duggan announced the program, in which community groups were awarded federal American Rescue Plan Act funds that were meant to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a spike in violent crime.

The six agencies selected by the city were assigned 3-square-mile to 5-square-mile sections of the city, and were allowed to craft and implement their own violence reduction strategies. Each group is given a $175,000 budget per quarter, and can earn up to $175,000 more in performance grants each quarter, if violence is reduced in their areas.

The quadrants of the city handled by two of the Shot Stoppers groups, FORCE Detroit and Detroit Friends & Family, showed respective 70% and 48% reductions in shootings and homicides from Nov. 1-Jan. 31, Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison said during a press conference at the Northwest Activities Center on Meyers Road.

"These groups are doing something the police can't do," said Bettison, a longtime Detroit cop. "They've developed trust with the community, and we're seeing that with these statistics."

FORCE Detroit earned a $175,000 performance grant after violent crime went down in its assigned "CVI Zone" on the city's west side that includes the Warrendale and Franklin Park neighborhoods. Detroit Friends and Family earned $87,500 after violent crime dropped in its zone on the east side.

The section handled by New Era Detroit saw violent crime fall 35% during the quarter, while the area Detroit People's community is responsible for a 27% reduction. Bettison said those numbers were below the city's overall 37% drop in violent crime during the quarter, although he said the program will be extended for the two groups, along with FORCE Detroit and Detroit Friends & Family.

The area of the city handled by Wayne Metro/Denby Neighborhood Alliance/Camp Restore saw a 9% violent crime drop, while Detroit 300 had no decline. Although despite falling below their benchmarks, Bettison said the groups will be given three-month extensions "to hopefully get their programs going."

"(A small) percent of of the population participates in cycles of violence for whatever reason, whatever the root causes," said FORCE Detroit's Dujuan "Zoe" Kenney. "We have the connections and relationships with that network, and we use our learned experiences and our reputations and our connections to mitigate violence. We leverage our relationships to coordinate peace."

Ray Winans of Detroit Friends & Family said the Shot Stoppers organizations work together to share information and help families in need. He said his group worked with FORCE Detroit to get a family whose house had been shot up into a hotel.

"That young man said it was a game-changer," Winans said.

According to the city, the Shot Spotters groups are measured by comparing the “CVI Score" —the number of homicides in each area multiplied by two, plus non-fatal shootings — to the numbers during the same quarter the previous year.

To earn a performance grant, groups must reduce the CVI Score below its prior-year level, and achieve a decline at least 10% greater than the decline in areas of the city that aren't part of the program. Groups that beat the citywide trend by 10 – 19 percentage points earn $87,500, and groups that beat the trend by 20 percentage points or more earn $175,000 for that quarter.

ghunter@detroitnews.com