Targeted effort to reduce gun violence set for summer in parts of Detroit, city parks

A targeted strategy to reduce gun violence in parts of Detroit with the city's highest rates of violence will kick into gear again this summer — beginning Memorial Day — but this year's effort also will expand to the city's parks.

The One Detroit partnership will offer a three-pronged approach of enforcement, prevention and reentry. Its Summer Surge initiative again will focus on the 8th Precinct on the city's west side and the 9th Precinct on the city's east side, but also expand into the city's parks, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison announced Thursday.

The announcement came just a day after Detroit police said a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot in the 9th Precinct just before 4 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Bedford and the Interstate 94 service drive. Earlier this month, a 17-year-old Detroiter was charged in connection with the nonfatal shootings of four people at Stein Park.

Ison said children in Detroit should be able to go to their parks and feel safe and protected. She said the Summer Surge effort strives to make it a reality, not a dream, for Detroiters to be safe in their community.

The One Detroit initiative, formed two years ago, is a coalition of community and law enforcement partners working to reduce violent crime through various initiatives, such as this summer effort and youth violence prevention, including programs in schools.

During the Summer Surge initiative, which will run through Labor Day, the most violent individuals arrested in the 8th and 9th precincts and city parks will be prosecuted in federal court when possible, including violent felons arrested for illegally possessing firearms, those arrested with fully automatic firearms and firearms with obliterated serial numbers, Ison said.

She said anyone who commits an armed carjacking or robbery of a business in the targeted areas will be prosecuted federally as will any individual with a meaningful connection to the targeted areas who commits this type of crime elsewhere in the city.

Last year, the effort from June 1 to Aug. 31 brought declines in violent crime of about 19% in the 8th Precinct and about 11% in the 9th Precinct compared with the same time period the prior year, according to Detroit police statistics in a prior Free Press article.

Earlier this year, law enforcement officials and community leaders announced Detroit recorded 252 homicides in 2023 — the city's fewest since 1966. While Ison said Thursday that crime is down, there is more to do.

In an effort to deter violence and illegal gun possession, Ison said last week that more than 350 letters were sent to people on probation, parole or supervised release in the targeted areas warning of them of the enforcement strategy and inviting them to participate in a Peacenic in their community.

Returning citizens, people returning to society after being incarcerated, who live in hot spot areas also are invited to participate in community roundtables with others who have successfully transitioned into society and service providers that could help them.

Two Peacenics, which are gatherings for the 8th and 9th Precinct communities and law enforcement, are planned this summer. They also feature job training, literacy programs, mental health and medical screenings, utility assistance, educational and vocational opportunities, a boutique where residents can shop for gently used clothing and more.

More than 70 vendors are expected this year. Last year, more than 4,800 people attended both Peacenic events, Ison said.

The 9th Precinct Peacenic will be 3-7 p.m. June 15 at the Hellmann Recreation Center, 19601 Brock St. (rain date June 23) and the 8th Precinct Peacenic will be 3-7 p.m. June 29 at O'Hair Park, 20253 Stahelin St. (rain date June 30).

Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison said the city again will deploy public works to clear neighborhoods of illegal dumping in preparation for the Peacenic events.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Effort to reduce gun violence set for summer in parts of Detroit, city parks