By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
- • Detroit recorded 165 homicides in 2025, the fewest in the city since the mid-1960s, police officials said.
- • The total represents a 19% drop from the 203 homicides reported in 2024.
- • Other violent crimes — including nonfatal shootings, carjackings and robberies — also declined last year.
- • Detroit police attributed reductions to ongoing strategies involving prevention, enforcement, technology and partnerships.
- • City figures align with broader national trends showing decreases in violent crime.
DETROIT, MI — The Detroit Police Department reported that homicides in the city fell to 165 in 2025, marking the fewest criminal killings since the early- to mid-1960s, officials said Wednesday.
Police Chief Todd Bettison told reporters the 165 homicides represent a 19% decline from the 203 reported in 2024, which itself had been the lowest total in decades.
Department data showed other violent crime categories also decreased last year. Nonfatal shootings fell from 603 in 2024 to 447 in 2025, carjackings dropped to 77 from 142, and robberies declined to 953 from 1,209. Statistics for sexual assaults and vehicle thefts likewise trended downward.
Chief Bettison said investment in crime prevention, enforcement, technology and collaborative efforts with federal, state and community partners contributed to the reductions. Mayor Mary Sheffield echoed the focus on a comprehensive public safety approach.
The city’s declining violent crime figures reflect similar trends reported in other U.S. cities, where law enforcement and community strategies have coincided with broad drops in homicides and related offenses over the past year.