Closing the Case: Michigan’s Push to Solve Violent Crime
Recent survey findings indicate that crime and public safety are still a top concern for Michigan residents. Communities across the state face compounding challenges from unsolved violent crime. The consequences ripple through neighborhoods, leaving victims and families waiting for answers, emboldening offenders, and chipping away at confidence in the justice system. Evidence from recent years paints a stark picture: The state’s clearance rate for violent crimes remains far below both state and national expectations, resting at just 42 percent for violent offenses and reaching only 12.8 percent for property crimes in 2024. Cities like Detroit and Ann Arbor have seen clearance rates decline sharply, with a backlog of unresolved homicides and assaults undermining the promise of accountability.
The reality is that departments across Michigan are expected to solve more with less. A full 72 percent of agencies in the state struggle with recruitment and retention issues, with other units impacted by their efforts to fill patrol cars. Detectives and investigators contend with overwhelming workloads, forced to juggle major cases or set aside unsolved crimes for new priorities. Resource bottlenecks, outdated record systems, and forensic testing delays frequently stifle momentum at critical early stages, impacting how leads are pursued and cases resolved. Small and rural agencies are hit even harder, with fewer full-time forensic specialists, limited digital expertise, and uneven protocols for collecting evidence. Fragmented operations not only impede efficient investigations, they set up territory gaps that clever offenders can exploit by crossing jurisdictional lines to avoid detection.
Declining witness and victim cooperation compounds these operational woes. As more cases remain open, community members grow skeptical about law enforcement’s ability to deliver results, fueling a cycle of diminished cooperation. This feedback loop means new reports are less likely to yield actionable tips, slowing progress even further and driving up public skepticism. Research also shows that chronic underperformance in clearance rates worsens the “dark figure” of unreported crime, as victims and witnesses lose faith that coming forward will have any meaningful result.
The Violent Crime Clearance Act establishes a statewide grant program within the Michigan Department of State Police to improve the clearance of violent crimes and strengthen investigative capacity across law enforcement agencies. If enacted, it would:
- Create a statewide grant program allowing local police departments and sheriff’s offices to apply individually or jointly for funding to hire, retain, and train personnel—including investigators, forensic specialists, and crime analysts—dedicated to solving violent crimes.
- Fund upgrades to forensic tools and technology including evidence collection equipment, forensic testing systems, and laboratory resources to enhance investigative quality and efficiency.
- Support record management and data system modernization, ensuring compliance with statewide reporting and transparency requirements and improving case tracking and data reliability.
- Provide resources to support witnesses, facilitating cooperation in violent crime investigations and improving case outcomes.
- Distribute funds equitably across the state, ensuring geographic diversity, protecting prior funding levels for agencies that receive awards, and encouraging collaboration among jurisdictions for multi-agency cases.
- Require annual reporting and accountability, mandating that grant recipients submit public reports detailing case clearance data, personnel investments, technology improvements, and training activities for inclusion in biennial evaluations by the Department of State Police.
These measures aim to break the cycle of unsolved crime and restore trust by ensuring departments have the modern resources, workforce, and oversight needed to deliver real results.
Equitable funding distribution and special support for rural departments ensure smaller agencies can join large urban counterparts in deploying cutting-edge forensic tools and maintaining full investigative teams. This is critical because evidence consistently links higher clearance rates to focused investments in workforce, timely forensic capacity, and proactive victim engagement.
The act also mandates enhanced services for victims and witnesses, recognizing both the trauma of unresolved crime and the practical need to support community members in coming forward. By embedding victim services and data-driven monitoring into everyday police work, Michigan can begin to roll back cycles of distrust and disengagement.
Clearance rates aren’t just statistics. When cases go unsolved, violence becomes cyclical, eroding trust and stability. Each time a guilty violent offender walks free, the message is clear: Accountability is optional. Not only does that lack of consequence leave victims without justice, it also emboldens offenders to harm again. Research consistently shows that it isn’t the severity of punishment but the certainty of being caught that most effectively deters crime. Communities supported by well-resourced, coordinated investigative teams don’t just solve more cases—they prevent future ones. Michigan’s future lies in confronting these gaps head on with a clear commitment to solving cases, supporting victims, and reestablishing accountability as the foundation for public safety.
What this means: Michigan’s move toward targeted investment in clearance rates creates new opportunities for evidence-based policy and measurable results. Local leaders, justice system professionals, and residents should anticipate greater impact from reporting trends, transparency measures, and regional collaborations, making real case closure the goal and the standard for every community.