Whitmer, Duggan tout statewide gun violence crackdown ahead of summer

Heading into the summer — a time that typically coincides with a spike in violent crime — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer came to Detroit on Tuesday to tout a statewide effort she launched last fall to remove illegal guns from the streets.

As the weather warms, Mayor Mike Duggan predicts a cooldown in crime in Michigan's largest city if a statewide effort to curb gun violence dubbed Operation Safe Neighborhoods works as intended.

"We're ultimately going to be tested not by the promises that we make, but by what you see happen this summer," he said during a news briefing at Detroit's Public Safety Headquarters. "If the system works the way it should, we should see significant reductions in gun violence this summer."

As part of the statewide effort, agents for the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) partner with local law enforcement to carry out compliance checks on those on probation and parole barred from possessing firearms.

"Probation and parole is meaning something again," Duggan said.

The effort targets for compliance checks those who already possess weapons as well as those law enforcement officers believe may possess weapons, according to Kristin Gagnon, an MDOC official.

"With Operation Safe Neighborhoods, we are completing compliance checks in a much more efficient manner," she said.

Since the operation launched, law enforcement officers have conducted nearly 3,400 check-ins and taken 389 illegal firearms as well as recovered illegal drugs and ammunition, Whitmer said.

"As we enter the summer, when historical trends suggest that gun violence increases, initiatives like this one ... are critical," Whitmer said.

More: Whitmer expands background checks, enacts safe storage with gun safety bills

More: Suspected gunman who shot customers locked in Detroit gas station pleads not guilty

Probationers and parolees obtain guns illegally through multiple avenues such as break-ins to homes or cars containing unsecured weapons, according to Detroit Police Chief James White.

"When you see an Operation Safe Neighborhoods collaboration like this ... it's another tool for us to put in our toolbox and deploy," White said.

Whitmer also emphasized recent investments in community intervention programs to help reduce gun violence.

In her budget request for the next fiscal year, Whitmer asked lawmakers to create a new office that would distribute grants to local community violence prevention agencies and efforts aimed at reducing gun violence such as distributing trigger locks and gun safety boxes to households with children.

Lawmakers earlier this year used federal COVID-19 relief funds to launch the violence intervention office and approved $10 million — half in federal and half in state funds — in grant money for the office to administer.

A budget bill passed by the state House last week proposes an additional $10 million on top of Whitmer's request to support community-based organizations that provide violence intervention services.

Whitmer said gun safety legislation she signed slated to go into effect after the end of this year's legislative session would help ensure guns don't end up in the wrong hands. But she declined to say whether she supports another measure introduced by Democratic state lawmakers that would allow Michigan cities to ban guns on property owned or leased by the local government.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Duggan predicts reduction in gun crimes under state program