Police officials applaud lawmakers as they progress public safety and violence prevention package
In 2024, Detroit saw the lowest number of homicides recorded in the city since 1965, a triumph Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison told lawmakers Thursday was achieved in large-part by community violence intervention programs that he says would be able to continue doing effective work if legislators pass a proposed state Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund.
Bettison and police chiefs from Dearborn, Taylor, Livonia and other municipalities came to the Michigan House Government Operations Committee to offer support for a $115 million Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund being considered by lawmakers with the goal of distributing funds to local law enforcement to curb violent crime.
Community violence intervention, or CVI, programs such as ShotStoppers, Detroit Friends & Family and FORCE Detroit were able to reduce violent crime by up to 70% in some service areas between November 2023 and January 2024, a report from the city found. The three programs in the report engage trusted community members in Detroit neighbors to implement tailored approaches to reduce gun violence in the city.
And though the fund will help to save lives in cities with higher crime rates like Detroit and Flint, Bettison said, many municipalities in Michigan will dramatically benefit from being able to form or strengthen their own CVI programs to curb violence.
Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) went through a list off estimated distributions for communities the members on the committee represent: $176,000 for Owosso, $1.9 million for Flint, $261,000 for Waterford Township, $50,000 for Ludington, nearly $500,000 for Muskegon, $3.2 million for Grand Rapids and $1.1 million for Warren.
In Dearborn, one of Michigan's most populous cities and neighbor to Detroit, City Police Chief Issa Shahin said in addition to investing in CVIs, his department plans on using funds to hire more staff and officers to respond faster to calls and engage more proactively with neighborhoods before crime can occur.
'This is more than just funding. It's a commitment to public safety and smart, targeted and responsive to needs on the ground. I'll just be honest, policing is expensive. Communities want well-staffed, well-trained and well-resourced departments and that costs money,' Shahin said. 'This investment allows us to do that on behalf of our officers, our city and our residents.'
The Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund, which was proposed for $75 million last legislative session with bipartisan support has since been increased to $115 million in order to dedicate $40 million to county sheriffs.
The fund still has bipartisan support in the Republican-majority state House, but GOP leadership has raised concern that the Democratic-led state Senate won't take up the fund without trying to add other measures to it.
The Government Operations Committee, which has three Republicans and two Democrats, passed the bills that create the fund, HB 4260 and 4261, out of committee unanimously Thursday, urging their colleagues in both chambers of the Legislature to work towards the common goal of safer communities.
Funding public safety 'isn't about politics,' Harris said, 'it's about people.'
'It's about real families. It's about real neighborhoods, and it's about real law enforcement officers who need backup, and not just in the field, but here in Lansing from us.'
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