Research Process
The current research is aimed at investigating gang activity in the state of Michigan. Gang activity is an indicator of organized crime and is commonly associated with increased violent crime levels. Michigan was seeing significant economic and demographic deterioration at the start of the 2010s, particularly with Detroit becoming the large municipal bankruptcy in the country. Crime levels began to rise rapidly, but the situation has stabilized, and it is essential from a law enforcement and sociological perspective to determine gang activity present in the state.
Interview
An interview was conducted with Neighborhood Police Officer (NPO) Sgt. William O’Brien on April 24, 2022. The following questions were asked during the interview:
- Have you seen a general improvement or worsening of the situation regarding crime in Michigan over the last 2 years?
- Is there notable gang activity present in the state and if so, how extensive is it?
- Do gangs operate largely in poor inner-city areas of major urban centers or have reach beyond as well?
- What efforts are being made by the state and Detroit PD to address the issue of gangs?
Online Search
The research process started with a basic Google search using terms such as “gang” “violence,” and “Michigan.” This presented many local news articles which described gang activity and law enforcement efforts around the state, providing a general understanding of the situation. A search for “gang statistics Michigan” did not provide the concrete results necessary. However, it led to a website that tracks supposed gang activity by city and provide an index of active gangs. Furthermore, several websites including the FBI database tracking violent crime in Michigan were examined. Therefore, the combination of these resources including statistics, gang estimations by community organizations, and local news sources to provide context were used to understand the topic in greater detail.
Findings
Statistics indicate that Michigan is seeing a resurgence of violent crime. Based on the latest available official data, the rate of violent crime offenses per 100,000 people climbed from 438.6 in 2019 to 478 in 2020 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2020). While 2021 official data has not been released, anecdotal accounts, particularly from major urban areas and commonly crime-ridden neighborhoods. Michigan maintains the third highest violent crime rate in the Midwest and 10th nationwide. The majority of the violent crime is highly concentrated in specific cities, particularly Detroit, which accounted for 40% of the 47,641 crimes committed in Michigan (Stebbins, 2021). Hunter and Harding (2021) indicate that Detroit is one of the most violent urban centers with a rate of 2,248 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. These crimes include assault, robber, rape, and criminal homicide. However, the most concerning crimes on the rise in Detroit are murders (up 19.3%) and aggravated assaults (up 21.7%) even if as rapes and robberies declined, which is indicative of potential gang violence activity (Hunter & Harding, 2021). In fact, Michigan has two cities in the top-10 of the most violent in the US – Detroit and Lansing.
The primary area of gang violence in Michigan is Detroit, as has been confirmed by law enforcement. The interview suggested that Detroit remains the epicenter of gang violence in the state. The officer indicated that while it is not at a critical point, but it is serious and prevalent that law enforcement is dedicating significant resources to combat it. Furthermore, that is ongoing cooperation between local, state, and national agencies to intervene and making key arrests. This is supported by a press release from July 2021 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Michigan which has arrested and sentenced multiple violent gang members from Detroit to long prison terms in the federal prison. This came as a result of a joint operation between various levels of agencies. As confirmed in the press release and also noted by the interviewed officer, gang activity in Detroit is predominately concentrated in the less affluent areas of the eastside (United States Department of Justice, 2021). A large and dangerous gang running the area at this time identifies as “Smokecamp” as well as other nationally known groups such as the Vice Lords.
In conclusion, both in Detroit and other urban areas such as Lansing, Flint, and Ann Arbor, there is an evident rise in violent crime as a result of gang violence. Some of these gangs as described above are large organizations trafficking in drugs and weapons, while others are groups of youths coming together and engaging in block turf wars. There is concern that new gangs are starting to form, particularly in these underdeveloped areas of primarily minority neighborhoods (Pierret, 2021). That is where young people do not have the opportunities for economic growth, particularly in the current status quo of the declining economy due to COVID-19 and other factors in the last few years. In many cases, new gang members stem from generational crime, where the parents were prosecuted during the peak of gang violence back in the 1990s. Law enforcement in the urban centers is actively seeking to develop community safety strategies and other means of responding to increased violence on a systemic level, which is an indication that gang activity is only expected to grow and impact the safety and well-being of community members.
References
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2020). Crime data explorer. Web.
Hunter, G., & Harding, H. (2021). Detroit remains among nation’s most violent big cities, FBI statistics show.The Detroit News. Web.
Pierret, A. (2021). Prosecutor says second generation of gangs plaguing Flint area. ABC 12 News. Web.
Stebbins, S. (2021). How the violent crime rate in Michigan compares to other states. Web.
United States Department of Justice. (2021). Member of violent gang from Detroit’s eastside sentenced to 210 months in federal prison. Web.