Even though violent crime has been falling fast in Detroit over the last decade, the city still has a crime rate that’s one of the highest in the nation.  

Every year, police recover about 6,000 illegal guns in Detroit. Yet legal gun ownership is also common in the city, a reflection of how deeply concerns about safety and self-protection run through daily life.

To try to prevent crime before it happens, Detroit police stop people for nonviolent offenses. A Detroit Free Press investigation found that 20 percent of DPD shootings over the past decade started with those kinds of stops. 

Those findings stress the question: what is the police’s obligation to stop crime before it happens in a place where many don’t feel safe and guns are plentiful?

To explore this, Detroit Free Press investigative reporter Violet Ikonomova spoke with Robyn Vincent about her recent reporting on police shootings that began with stops for nonviolent offenses.

Correction: A former version of this web post stated that 20 percent of police stops for small infractions ended in police shootings. 

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro