DETROIT, MI (MPRN)-- A surge in violent crime in Detroit is leading to an increased federal presence in the city.
Late last year in Detroit U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced a flood of federal agents into the city. Hundreds of arrests were made in the past six months, but officials say shootings have risen by 51 percent over this time in 2019.
Now the federal government says the answer to the spike in violent crime is more federal intervention.
The U.S. Attorney in Detroit, Matthew Schneider, says recent protests against police brutality are a potential cause for the rise in violence.
“There is a great amount of disrespect and hatred of police officers in our country right now. And when people do not trust and they dislike the police that escalates tension in the community itself,” he says.
Over the past six months nearly $5 million in grant money has been earmarked to fund the influx of agents into Detroit. Activists say that money would best be spent on helping people in the community.