Violent crimes in Detroit dropped significantly in 2014, with homicides dipping to the lowest total since 1967, according to preliminary Detroit police data, The Detroit News reports.
Robberies show the sharpest decline, dropping 34 percent as of Dec. 22, when police released year-to-date crime stats. Carjackings drop 32 percent. There were 525 carjackings compared to 765 during 2013.
There were 300 homicides in 2014 compared to 333 slayings the year before. The population in Detroit in 1967 was more than double what it is now.
George Hunter of The News writes:
Even with the downward trend in crimes in the past few years, Detroit still ranks among the most violent cities in the United States, according to FBI statistics released in November. . . .
But even taking the current population of about 700,000 into consideration, the homicide rate per 100,000 residents dropped for the third straight year, from 55 in 2012, to 47.5 last year, to 42.9 in 2014.
