GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In the summer, Grand Rapids has historically seen a spike in violent crime.
However, that's not the case this year.
Here's the numbers for May and June over the last 10 years:
- 2013 – May: 0; June: 1
- 2014 – May: 1; June: 0
- 2015 – May: 1; June: 0
- 2016 – May: 1; June: 0
- 2017– May: 2; June: 1
- 2018– May: 0; June: 0
- 2019– May: 1; June: 1
- 2020– May: 2; June: 4
- 2021– May: 2; June: 2
- 2022– May: 6; June: 6
- 2023– May: 1; June: 0
During the month of June in 2023, the worst type of violent crime, homicide, didn't happen.
This year, the city saw just one homicide between May and June, compared to 2022, when Grand Rapids saw 12 homicides over those two months.
Community leaders and the police chief agree, it's a good sign.
“We’re always shooting for zero murders,” Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said. “We had zero murders in the month of June, for the first time in recent memory.”
The last time Grand Rapids saw a homicide-free June was in 2018.
“Last year, 2022, my first year here, we had 12 murders in the month of May and June combined,” Winstrom said.
“Historically in policing, the summer months are the ones you worry about, as far as gun violence. To see the change from a very violent summer last summer, to going an entire month, June, without a murder, we’re very pleased with that,” Winstrom said.
Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom credits arrests of violent people last summer and high homicide clearance rates for the drop in crime this June, as well as the DICE program.
The news is welcome to community advocate Jermar Sterling as well. Sterling works with youth, and his whole mission is to reduce community violence. He runs a program at the Boys & Girls Club called "Operation Peace Project."
Sterling says the drop in homicides is a sign that the work the community is doing as a whole is working.
“To me, no murders in the month of June—I’m on a natural high,” Sterling said.
It's encouraging news to the many community members like Sterling, who work on gun violence reduction.
“It’s summertime and the sun is shining. To where there’s a lot of crime— for us to not lose one person to gun violence in the month of June, that’s huge. That’s huge for our city,” Jermar said.
