13 Murders In The City Last Week; Police Chief Considers Overall Violent Crime Stats

DETROIT (WWJ) - There's a recent uptick in violent crime in the city of Detroit. Police Chief James Craig says last week alone there were 13 murders in the city.

But he notes to take the enormity off the recent murder numbers; overall stats have violent crime down this year. "When you look at our overall violent crimes, year to date, compared to last year, we are still overall down 11 percent in total violent crime - we are talking about homicide, sexual assault," said Craig.

Craig says they're in the early developmental stages of rolling out a modification to the way they respond to crime.

He says the city is creating a position, not adding a new position - a deputy chief who will be solely in charge of crime control strategies. "The idea behind that - it complements our com-stat process."

Craig says as long as police can continue to work closely with their communities -- they hope to continue to see the downward trend. He adds that they're looking at rolling out a modification to the way they respond to crime.