Crime Data Comparison - Detroit

Detroit was 383 in the same year. In the city of Minneapolis which happens to be a city around half of the total population of Detroit. In the city of Minneapolis the number of murders was 47.

For the year 2008 the murder rate decreased in Detroit to a murder rate of 339. It may seem to reflect with the drop in the murder rate would be a good thing. While this may seem like a positive sign, it merely reflects an overall drop in violent crimes across the nation. (Hendron, 2009) The 339 murders over a population under 900,000 make Detroit the deadliest metropolitan area in the United States. Additionally, Police officials in Detroit had misreported overall 2008 murder figures intentionally to avoid this distinction. (Hendron, 2009) Minneapolis, in comparison, saw their murders drop from forty-seven to thirty-eight in 2008. (Kohler, 2009) That in turn shows that the murder rate for Detroit dropped a total of 11%, but in the city of Minneapolis the murder rate had dropped by 20%.

There are many known theories for why the crime rate is higher in one state versus another state. One theory is that homicide rates are inversely linked to the availability of affordable housing in the region. (Jerelyn, 2003) This Theory has some support in the observation that new York's homicide rate dropped significantly after the development of housing projects, while in Chicago, where no such development occurred, rates remained steady. (Jerelyn, 2003) Looking at Minneapolis and Detroit, this theory seems to make some sense. Minneapolis has made a concerted, city-wide effort to build and maintain affordable housing in the city, whereas Detroit's efforts have been sporadic and less successful. (Jerelyn, 2003)

But one would have to look at the actual city and the residents of the city to truly determine why the crime rate is what it is. It would make sense that in a city with low income there would be a higher crime rate since people cannot afford the so-called finer things in life.

To compare the two cities of Detroit and Minneapolis there are many things to consider. The poverty rate is much higher than that Minneapolis which explains the higher murder and crime rate. It would be logical to think that because of the higher poverty rate it would have a higher homicide rate. Although poverty would be a large part of the issue for crime rate it is not the only contributing factor to consider. There are many other factors that need to be considered. Trends in crime rate change nationwide for virtually the same reasons in most states and cities. There has been an overall decrease in murders across the nation.

In many states and cities there is a number of people who would tend to think that the very relaxed rules on gun control laws has made the rates of homicide higher. Although this can seem logical it does not truly hold any truth or facts to support this theory.