"The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what you are talking about."

-Lent Upson, first director of Citizens Research Council

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April 9, 2026

Highlights:

The Good News of Detroit’s Reduced Homicide Rates, but Peer City Analysis Shows More Work to be Done (the social determinants of homicide)
Con-Con Podcast Series: Article I - The Declaration of Rights. Foundational and Contentious
Con-Con Research Series, paper #5: Article II - Elections
Research Council turns 110! Please Support our April Anniversary Campaign.

Detroit Homicides Down but Still Highest Among Six Peer Cities

In the second report in a series about crime in Detroit and across peer cities, the Research Council’s analysis reports that Detroit homicides in 2025 were the lowest recorded since 1964, mirroring a national trend where U.S. violent crime has declined since peaking in the early 1990s. However, while Detroit has experienced a rapid decline in its homicide rate since 2022, the city still has more work to do if it wants to match the homicide rates of its peer cities (Cleveland, Milwaukee, Rochester, Buffalo, Newark, Toledo). Since 2016, Detroit’s homicide rate has been consistently higher than those cities and much higher than the national homicide rate. Only Cleveland’s homicide rate came close to Detroit’s.

Future reports will examine property crime, the public safety budget, and differences in crime rates across the state, metro area, and at the neighborhood level.

Read the Brief

IN A NUTSHELL

-- FBI data show that Detroit’s homicide rate in 2024 was 31.4 homicides per 100,000 residents. It has declined significantly from a recent high of 49.5 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2022. Even with this decline, it has consistently been higher than the homicide rates of its peer cities since 2015. Three (out of six) peer cities and Detroit have had sizable declines in their homicide rate from 2019 to 2024.

-- Despite historic declines in Detroit homicides, continued progress in reducing Detroit’s homicide rate must be a focus if the city wishes to achieve rates of homicide similar to or better than those observed in peer cities.

-- While the city launched several public safety programs aimed at reducing crime, for long-lasting improvements, the Research Council recommends that the Sheffield Administration focus on addressing the structural determinants of homicide, which include poverty, income inequality, and family disruption/divorce, based on this analysis and existing homicide research.

Foundational and Contentious: Michigan's Article I - The Declaration of Rights

Episode 3 of the Research Council's podcast series dropped this week, examining Article 1 – The Declaration of Rights of the Michigan Constitution. This is part of a series of podcasts looking at each element of the current state constitution before Michigan voters are asked this November whether to approve a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con). Michiganders should consider before casting their vote this November on whether to hold a Con-Con.

Guy and Eric discuss why Article I is both foundational and highly contentious.

Listen Here

Michiganders view their constitutional rights as sacred, but the debate has intensified because Article I now includes rights—such as same-sex marriage, reproductive freedom, and affirmative action—that were not universally accepted when originally adopted and remain controversial today.

They touch on several hot-button issues in Article I, issues that would likely take center stage if there were a Con-Con, such as gun rights, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and reproductive freedoms.

Find all #FactsMatter podcasts on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts. LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!

The Research Council this week released the fifth in a series of 15 papers providing information to Michigan voters ahead of the November ballot question asking whether Michigan should hold a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con). It addresses Article II: Elections.

Article II of Michigan’s Constitution: Elections

The paper points out several inoperative provisions of Article II that currently violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

It also addresses major points of discussion for a potential convention, including voter qualifications and whether to require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration, replacing the current system of self-attestation.

A convention also may discuss recall, initiative, and referendum tools that allow citizens to bypass the legislature. The report notes that they are increasingly used by special interests to "referenda-proof" laws or to bypass the governor's veto.

Read the Paper

The MI Constitution Series

Support Another 110 Years!

For 110 years, the Citizens Research Council has helped Michiganders make informed decisions through independent, nonpartisan research.

Today, we are launching our 110th Anniversary Campaign with a goal of raising $25,000 by April 30 to support the research and analysis communities across Michigan rely on.

Your support keeps trusted facts at the center of public policy.

Celebrate with us today by donating to help us continue this work for the next generation.

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