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DETROIT - Today, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison, along with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kym Worthy, and Detroit Police Chief James E. White, announced a targeted strategy aimed at reducing gun violence in Detroit's neighborhoods with the highest incidence of violent crime - Detroit's 8thand 9thPrecincts. The strategy has three components-enforcement, prevention, and reentry-and is a part of the One Detroit partnership announced last month. One Detroit is a coalition of community and law enforcement partners working together to develop and execute the best strategies to reduce violent crime.

Joining in the announcement were Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division, Special Agent in Charge James Dier, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division, Beverly Smith, Assistant Deputy Director, Operations Office, Michigan Department of Corrections, Bishop Edgar Vann, II, Second Ebenezer Church, Alvin Stokes, President, Citywide Citizens Police Community Relations and Kenyatta Stephens, CEO Black Family Development.

As temperatures rise, so too does violent crime. With summer approaching, the One Detroit Partnership has launched an effort to strategically focus resources on the most dangerous neighborhoods of the city. These neighborhoods in the 8thand 9thPrecincts are among the highest in the city in fatal and non-fatal shootings, robberies, and carjackings in 2023.

One part of the effort is an enforcement strategy designed to prosecute the most violent individuals and crimes in federal court when that is possible. Under the strategy, violent felons arrested for illegally possessing firearms and those arrested with fully automatic firearms and firearms with obliterated serial numbers in select areas of Detroit's 8thand 9thPrecincts will be subject to immediate federal prosecution. In addition, any individual who commits an armed carjacking or robbery of a business in the targeted areas will be prosecuted federally. Finally, any individual with a meaningful connection to the targeted areas, who commits this type of crime elsewhere in the city, will be prosecuted federally. The "hot spot" strategy for federal enforcement will begin on Memorial Day and will last until Labor Day in September.

The One Detroit partnership is also engaged in preventing crime in the targeted areas. In an effort to deter violence and illegal gun possession, last week, letters were sent to 200 individuals on probation, parole, or supervised release in the targeted areas, warning them of the enforcement strategy. But the letter-which was signed by the entire executive team of One Detroit-did more than warn. The letter asked the recipient to be a part of the solution and to help make their neighborhood a safer place. And it invited the recipient to participate in a Peacenic in their neighborhood. Peacenics are community events where residents can come for fun, engage with law enforcement, and obtain resources to improve the quality of their lives. This year's Peacenics will take place on Saturday, July 8, at O'Hair Park, and Saturday, July 15, at Heilmann Park from 3 PM to 7 PM. The events will feature vendors offering a variety of resources, including job training, literacy programs, mental health and medical screenings, utility assistance, educational and vocational opportunities, tutorial, career development programs, and more. Several law enforcement agencies will also be present to engage with the community and recruit to fill vacancies in their organizations.

Finally, the One Detroit partners also intend to invite returning citizens who live in the "hot spot" areas to meet with service providers to help them directly address any barriers that are preventing them from fully reintegrating in society.

As part of our unified strategy, and to spread the word about the One Detroit partnership, billboards will be strategically placed in areas of the 8thand 9thPrecincts which encourage residents to join the partnership by taking a pledge to put down the guns and be an agent of change in their community. The pledge can be found by going to the U.S. Attorney's Office web page at www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/one-detroit-peace-pledge. The web page will be a resource residents can go to learn of upcoming events related to One Detroit.

"Our summer enforcement strategy will target the most dangerous areas of Detroit," said U.S. Attorney Ison. "We will federally prosecute carjackings, robberies, and gun crimes in these areas. At the same time, we will reach out and engage with the community to prevent crime from occurring in the first place. We will not stop until the people of Detroit and those who visit Detroit feel safe to go about their business on its streets."

"We know that the summer months bring a lot of great activities to our city, but also can bring a higher rate of violent crime," said Mayor Duggan. To help make sure we all have a safe summer, DPD will be focusing on the 8th and 9th precinct where we typically see the largest spike in gun related crime. I'm grateful for the leadership and support of our US Attorney Dawn Ison and Chief White, as well as our many local, state, and federal law enforcement and community partners."

"We know that violent crime usually increases in the warm weather months. One Detroit will do everything possible to combat this problem, but we can't do it alone. To do better we all collectively have to be better," said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

"The Detroit Police Department and One Detroit partners will strategically deploy our resources to these neighborhoods most impacted by violent crime in order for residents to have a safer summer," said Chief James E. White. "Together, we will work to continue fighting violent crime to secure a better quality of life for our residents, visitors, and officers."

View the photos from the announcement here.

Photo Credit: The City of Detroit