Are the Lions Responsible For Detroit’s Historically Low Violent Crime Rate?

When you talk with someone about Detroit, who isn't from Michigan, inevitably they'll bring up one or both of the same things - Crime, and sports. Detroit is known for both, and in recent history, neither has been great.

The last decade with the Lions, Red Wings, and Pistons have been tough to watch, and crime has historically been an issue for the Motor City for quite some time. BUT, a new report shows how both sports, AND violence in Detroit are on the up-and-up (in a good way) as of late. Could they be connected?

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Crime is WAY Down in Detroit

First, the best news in a long time - Detroit's homicide, shooting, and carjacking numbers are WAY down.. like, historically low in 2023. It's the lowest they've seen in the past 60 years.

Homicides are down 18% from 2022, and even non-fatal shootings have dropped 13%. Also, carjackings have dropped an incredible 36% in the past 12 months. By all accounts, Detroit crime is trending in the right direction for the first time in a LONG time... but why?

If you ask Chief James White, he'll say it's because of a collaboration among police, prosecutors, and the local judiciary.

"We've seen significant drops, not just downtown, but all around town. We're certainly not celebrating just yet, (but) we do feel our efforts this summer to balance patrols downtown with the rest of the city have been successful, and it gives us a template to work from moving forward."

They have been working to clear a backlog of thousands of felony gun cases that built up during, and since the pandemic. And since many of those cases were backlogged, those charged with gun crimes were still out on bond for long periods of time.

This year along, the courts and police have cleared about 4,000 felony gun cases, and Wayne County has increased staffing in the Prosecutor's and Sheriff's offices to help accommodate for the large caseload.

The City of Detroit is also investing millions of dollars into community groups with proven track records of addressing crime, and those groups are being deployed in various sections of the city where crime is higher than usual.

How are Sports Involved?

While ALL of that is incredible, and great news in prosecuting criminals in Detroit, there is something else that could be helping reduce violence in Detroit, and that's sports.

The Red Wings are finally putting it together since moving to Little Caesar's Arena, and now sit third in the Eastern Conference. But the Red Wings have given Detroit hope before, and in recent decades. The LIONS, however, might be the biggest ticket, and might explain why it's been 60 years in the making.

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The Lions and Crime are Connected

The last time violent crime was this low in Detroit, it was the 1962-63 NFL season, and the Lions put together an 11-3 season. Now, in 2023, the Lions are trending toward a possible repeat of that record in the regular season.

So 60 years apart, a similar trend in the Lions record, AND historic low violence rate in Detroit? That can't be a coincidence, right? My guess is, it's not. And while it's only my opinion on the matter, I think when the Lions do well, the people of Detroit are overall much happier, and less prone to violence.

Instead of fighting with each other, and hurting each other, we're bonding together over the love of our team, who is giving us hope again for NFL Glory.

By the way, that 62-63 season for the Lions had a pretty good ending. They finished 2nd in the NFL Western Conference behind the Packers. So by some miracle, the Lions make it to the Super Bowl this year, and WIN it? Violence may all but disappear in Detroit... at least for a day.