Beginning this year, the City of Detroit may begin to see a vast decrease in violent crimes as local, state and federal agencies team up to target offenders. 

Law enforcement officials say Detroit One, an initiative that kicked off last month, has a goal to reduce gun crimes and homicides. The initiative is unique from other crime-fighting efforts because of the level of collaboration among agencies, such as the Detroit Police, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, the Michigan State Police, the Michigan Department of Corrections, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to reports, as of March 31, 2013, 69 criminal homicides have occurred in Detroit so far this year, which is down from the past year that saw76 such crimes during the same time period. Non-fatal shootings have also shown some decline; 214 had occurred in the first quarter of the year, which is down from 243 from the same time last year.  

Detroit One is modeled after successful efforts to cut crime in Washington D.C., where the homicide rate was roughly 13.9 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2012.

Detroit Police Chief Chester Logan says that while it’s too early to measure the success of the initiative, there have been more narcotics raids, arrests and tickets issued since it was launched. 

In 2012, the City had its highest homicide rate in nearly two decades — 54.6 homicides per 100,000 residents, not accounting for killings deemed justifiable by police.