US Attorney Announces Enhanced Enforcement Strategy Targeting Designated High-Crime Areas in Detroit | USAO-EDMI

DETROIT – Today, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison, along with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County District Attorney Kym Worthy and Detroit Police Chief James E. White announced a targeted initiative to law enforcement designed to reduce gun violence in Detroit neighborhoods with the highest incidence of violent crime.

Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division, Special Agent in Charge Paul Vanderplow, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, joined the announcement.

Studies have shown that violent crime is generally committed by a small number of actors and is highly concentrated within communities. And we know that as temperatures rise, violent crime also increases in these neighborhoods. With summer approaching, the United States Attorney’s Office, along with the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office, the Detroit Police Department, the ATF, and the FBI, launched an effort to strategically focus resources on the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. These districts of 8^e and 9^e Precincts lead the city in fatal and non-fatal shootings, robberies and aggravated assaults with a firearm in 2022.

The strategy is part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. The NSP continues to be the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. Through the PSN, a wide range of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. The PSN is an evidence-based program that focuses law enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with local prevention and rehabilitation programs to pursue lasting reductions in crime.

The unified approach to reducing gun violence announced today includes enhanced collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement and coordinated prosecution efforts to strengthen existing and ongoing partnerships to combat violent crime in all the city. As part of the strategy,

felons caught in one of the designated areas in possession of a firearm will be immediately prosecuted at the federal level. Additionally, anyone who uses a firearm to commit a crime of violence or a crime of drug trafficking will also be considered for federal prosecution. The “hot spots” strategy for federal enforcement began on Memorial Day and will last through Labor Day in September.

Importantly, this enforcement strategy will be coupled with increased efforts by the City of Detroit to address blight and other quality of life issues for residents living in designated enforcement areas. .

“Through this partnership, we will strategically focus on the drivers of violence in our most dangerous communities. This strategy aims to significantly reduce violence by focusing narrowly on those who commit it and to return these neighborhoods to the majority of residents who want to live in peace,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison. “Along with our enforcement strategy, my office is committed to working with community leaders in these neighborhoods and the city of Detroit to improve the quality of life in the areas we have targeted for enhanced enforcement,” said continued Ison.

Mayor Duggan said, “The two areas that Detroit police have been intensely focused on are the 8th and 9th precincts, where we typically see the highest rate of gun crime, especially during the months of summer. I am deeply grateful to the United States Attorney’s Office for implementing the new policy of ensuring that cases of felons found in possession of a firearm in these neighborhoods are immediately prosecuted. federal. Federal law enforcement agencies in Detroit have worked closely with DPD and the community. This new initiative makes it clear that they will remain strong community partners in making neighborhoods safer for Detroit residents.

Attorney Worthy said, “The proliferation of gun violence in Detroit is staggering. We must not deter ourselves from tackling this problem. People with a background in the 8th and 9th arrondissements will be prosecuted at the federal level if they are in possession of weapons. We hope that our collaboration with the United States Attorney’s Office will have an impact on this important issue. “

Chief White said, Detroiters deserve police excellence. Ongoing collaboration provides another layer of protection for our community. The relationship between DPD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office is instrumental in keeping the Detroiters safe. I would like to thank US Attorney Dawn Ison for her commitment and leadership to our community.

“Through information sharing, strategic law enforcement efforts and federal prosecutions, Detroit law enforcement continues to work together to fight crime in the most violent areas of our city,” said FBI Detroit Field Special Agent James A. Tarasca. Desk. “The FBI will contribute to this initiative by targeting those who commit armed robberies in businesses, as well as the leaders of gangs and criminal enterprises who fuel violence in our communities. By doing so, we will ensure that our neighborhoods and communities are safer places to live and work.

“Regardless of the time of year, the ATF has no tolerance for criminals who continue to terrorize our communities using firearms as a tool of violence,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the ATF, Paul Vanderplow. “The men and women of ATF are dedicated to identifying and apprehending those who choose violence. ATF proudly stands with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners within the State of Michigan in prosecuting these individuals.