Detroit ended 2024 with 203 homicides, its fewest since 1965, Josiah Bates reported in his latest story for The Trace, published in partnership with Outlier Media. Activists and city officials credit ShotStoppers, a $10 million initiative that drove down gun violence through a collaboration between community-led groups, law enforcement, and city officials.
ShotStoppers was created in 2023 and funded with federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, the Biden-era economic stimulus package set to expire this year. It provided six organizations with funding to autonomously implement their own community violence intervention strategies in specific areas. By the end of October, Detroit recorded a 45 percent year-over-year drop in homicides in the areas where ShotStoppers was implemented, versus 18 percent in places without it.
Despite that progress, the expiration of ARPA dollars could mark the end of ShotStoppers. Under the new Trump administration, it is likely to be cut, as steps have already been taken to halt relief packages.
“We worked so hard, we sacrificed so much, and we’ve learned from the mistakes that we’ve made,” said Negus Vu, a grassroots leader of Detroit nonprofit The People’s Action, which cooperated with ShotStoppers. “The magnitude of what is going to happen when the ARPA dollars run out is… diabolical.”
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From The Trace
Some Chicago Gunshot Victims Don’t Trust Ambulances: Survivors are choosing to transport themselves to the hospital instead of waiting for emergency services. Experts say the Chicago Fire Department isn’t doing everything it can to improve slow response times.
Detroit Ended 2024 with the Lowest Number of Homicides Since 1965. Now It May Lose a Crucial Program: The $10 million initiative is funded by the Joe Biden-era American Rescue Plan Act, an economic stimulus package set to expire this year.
At the Salon, Philadelphia Women Sound Off on How Safe Their City Feels: Stylists and clients at two beauty salons spoke to a Trace reporter about how the city’s decline in homicides has translated into real life.
What to Know Today
GOP lawmakers in New Jersey proposed legislation to expand automatic voter registration to residents obtaining firearms purchaser ID cards or permits to carry handguns. The bill would also extend automatic registration to hunting licenses. [New Jersey Monitor]
The New York Police Department wrongly accused a 15-year-old boy of carrying out a mass shooting at the annual West Indian American Day parade on its social media accounts. After a conversation with the teen and his lawyer, police declined to charge him and quietly removed his picture from their pages; the department publicly apologized for the allegation this week, five months after the shooting. The incident has raised questions about NYPD’s failure to address misinformation. [Associated Press]
In 2018, Google pledged not to use artificial intelligence for weapons or surveillance. Earlier this month, the company revised its ethical guidelines to no longer reflect the pledge, an update executives claimed was to serve government and national security clients based in democratic countries. [The Washington Post]
As the Trump administration takes action to end DEI efforts, the military is withdrawing recruitment from the Black Engineer of the Year Awards, a prestigious conference that’s historically served as a key source of talent for the Pentagon. The Army and other branches are concerned that their involvement would go against the orders of the administration. [Military]
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed Karina’s Law to temporarily remove guns from people who have orders of protection against them. The law, named for domestic violence victim Karina González, clarifies the process for surrendering firearms to law enforcement and allows judges to issue a search warrant if they deem someone who is serving an order of protection an immediate threat. [Block Club Chicago]
Colorado lawmakers are considering a suicide prevention proposal that would create a voluntary “do-not-sell” registry to allow residents to prohibit themselves from obtaining firearms. The legislation draws from Donna’s Law. [The Colorado Sun]
Before he became a school shooter, the teen who opened fire inside Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee, had shown a history of violence and making threats online. However, that was not enough to get school officials and the Metropolitan Nashville Police to flag him as a threat. [ProPublica]
Data Point
More than $137 million — the amount of funding federal agencies have spent on gun violence research since 2020. In the five years prior, the federal government spent nearly $25 million on gun violence research; in the decade before that, it spent $500,000 annually. [The Trace]
Non Sequitur
Books vs. Brain Rot: Why it’s so hard to read
Britney Luse is joined by Elaine Castillo to discuss why reading is a chore in this day and age, with competing factors like doom scrolling, brain rot, and more. [NPR]
