Ajrouche 1

Sahar Ajrouche
Dr. James Buccellato
Honors 1000
4 December, 2014

Using Social Capital to Combat Crime

Introduction
Sounds of gun shots, police sirens, and screams fill the vacant neighborhoods of Detroit.
With the growing prevalence of crime, it is no wonder why the population continues to stagger
towards its record low. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, crime includes: murder
and negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor
vehicle theft, and arson.1 Detroit has high rates in each division. Individuals blame it on a variety
of issues including lack of education, economic instability, and declining social capital. The fact
of the matter remains: while national crime rates are decreasing, Detroits rates, especially
among younger generations, are on the rise. Detroit One is a collaborative effort between law
enforcement and the community to combat this issue. Since its initiation, it has vastly improved
the problem of homicides and other violent crimes in Detroit. Detroit One is a prime example of
how engagement in social capital can improve the safety and overall atmosphere of the city. This
progress, however, is often limited in its scope due to the self-fulfilling prophecies perpetuated
by the worlds negative view of Detroit.
Crime in Detroit
1

Crime in the United States 2013, Federal Bureau of Investigation, November 20, 2014, http://www.fbi.gov/.

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Crime has been a major problem in Detroit since its earliest origins. Many argue that this
issue is present in every city and Detroit is unjustly epitomized as the symbol of crime. While
this is true to some extent, they fail to consider the fact that Detroit's 14,504 violent crimes
murder, rape, assault and robbery gave the city the highest per-capita rate in the nation.2 With
such a high rate of occurrence, it is difficult to deny the presence of such an issue. The blame is
often placed on the police force. After all, isnt their job to protect the city? However, a closer
examination of this issue seems to indicate a more complex answer.
The Detroit Police Force is primarily responsible for ensuring the safety of all citizens in
Detroit. When the force begins to lose its members, the cities crime begins to increase. With a
median salary of about $52,064, officers are beginning to leave the force because they simply
cannot afford to stay in Detroit and work 12-hour shifts.3 The cost of living is exceeding their
annual pay. In addition, the police program lists a high school diploma as a minimum
requirement4; the Detroit Public School District has a graduation rate of 65.16%.5 Although it is
crucial that the police officers are competent in their general courses, this requirement potentially
eliminates many probable job applications. While education is limiting the number of police
officers, it is certainly increasing the number of crimes. Philip Bean, in his book entitled Crime,
asserts "We must include among the causes of crime ignorance, or the want of a suitable
education.6 The lack of education is in part responsible for kindling criminal behavior.

Christine MacDonald, Detroit led U.S. in murder, crime rates, FBI says, Detroit News (Detroit, MI), Nov. 11,
2014.
3
J. D. Heyes, Detroit police declare city to be 'war zone' unsafe for visitors, residents, Natural News, Oct. 11,
2012.
4
Police Career, City of Detroit: THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF DETROIT, November 21, 2014,
http://www.detroitmi.gov
5
Thomas A. Wilk, High School Graduation Rates in the Metro-Detroit Area: What Really Affects Public Secondary
Education, Undergraduate Economic Review 5, no. 4 (2009): 45.
6
Thorsten Sellin, Crime: Critical Concepts in Sociology (New Fetter Lane, London: Routledge, 2003), 46.

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Also pertaining to the economic issues aforementioned, unemployment seems to likewise

correlate with the high rate of violent actions. As the bustling automobile city, Detroit generally
faced far fewer incidences of crime since a majority of the citizens were well off. However, as
large businesses, especially the big three, began moving to the suburbs, leaving the financially
incapable behind, the crime rate began to steadily increase. Witold Rybczynski states that As if
that were not enough [the city losing jobs], the black urban riots of the sixties caused many
middle-class citizens, black as well as white, to leave the city for the suburbs, causing tax
revenues to fall still further.7 People no longer felt economically stable, and therefore often
resorted to stealing (to survive) or committing violent acts to portray their frustration. Scott
Martelle effectively illustrates this concept by stating that crime travels hand in hand with
joblessness, and when Detroits economic foundations softened, then collapsed, Detroits
reputation morphed once again.8
While this declining rate of available officers and jobs should ignite a motivation within
citizens to better their city, it seems to trigger an opposite response. Detroit residents are using
this as an incentive to become increasingly involved in violent acts; they are likely to not receive
any penalties. However, the consequences are left to Detroit. With public safety on the list of
most desirable factors in a city, Detroits crime rate seemingly repels any prospective city
dwellers. Robin Boyle, chair of Wayne States department of urban studies and planning
supports this assertion by stating Crime is arguably the most important issue in this city.
Investment decisions, be that as individuals or families, are all tied up with this perception of

7
8

Witold Rybczynski, City Life (New York: Simon & Schuster), 1995.
Scott Martelle, Detroit: A Biography (Chicago: Chicago Review Press), 226.

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public safety."9 As crime continues to increase, people will continue to move out (or not move
in) with their tax dollars, leaving Detroit to suffer in its vacancy.
Combatting this Issue
Detroit One recently emerged to help combat this increasingly prevalent issue. This
initiative was established in response to the programs nationwide that have been applied
successfully; in particular, Washington, D.C.s very similar framework resulted in the number of
homicides dropping from a high of 479 in the 1990s to 88 in 2012.10 The initiative is called
Detroit One to emphasize a unified approach by the entire community to improve public safety
in the city.11 In other words, it aims at promoting engagement in social capital to create a safer
community. Mayor Bing of Detroit states that The value of teamwork has been clear to me
throughout my professional career. Detroit One brings the principles of teamwork to law
enforcement, as well as the community. I believe that by working together we can cause a
significant drop in crime in our city.12 This active engagement in the community is intended to
stimulate the rate of citizens that are informed, and provide incentives for them to become a part
of the cause. The overall goal of this program is to reduce the number of all gun-related violent
crimes in 2013 by 25%.13

Social Capital as a Solution

Cory Weinberg, Wayne State U. Puts Its Hopes, and Its Money, Into Detroit, THE CHRONICLE of Higher
Education (Detroit, MI), Sep. 6, 2013.
10
Detro1t One: VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION INITIATIVE, City of Detroit: THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF DETROIT,
http://www.detroitmi.gov/Portals/0/docs/News/DetroitOneFinal.pdf
11
Ibid.
12
Mayor Bing Announces "DETROIT ONE" Violent Crime Reduction Initiative, City of Detroit. March 21, 2013.
13
Detro1t One: VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION INITIATIVE.

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Detroit One answers the question of what should we do? by employing social capital as
a means of combatting crime. After all, Robert Putnam does state that Researchers in such
fields as education, urban poverty, unemployment, the control of crime and drug abuse, and even
health have discovered that successful outcomes are more likely in civically engaged
communities.14 To examine the impact of social capital on the programs ability to achieve its
goal, one must first understand the concept. Putnam states that "social capital" refers to features
of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and
cooperation for mutual benefit.15 There are claims that social capital is continuously decreasing,
eventually creating a nation full of apathetic individuals. However, efforts such as Detroit One
serve to restore hope through various initiatives. To enhance the process, law enforcement and
city leaders are conducting activities such as: town hall meetings at churches, schools and
community centers, speaking at community organization events, knocking on doors during
daylight hours to provide citizens with tip line information, and conducting face-to-face meetings
with citizens returning to the community from prison.16 Law enforcement representatives meet
weekly to identify the worst of the worst violent offenders and then work together to
apprehend and charge them. By removing these trigger pullers from our streets, violent crime has
been slowly improving.17
The Detroit One strategy also involves prevention programs, such as the Ceasefire and
the Detroit Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, which present faith and community partners as
alternatives to crime. Additionally, this strategy serves to defeat the no snitch culture and
encourage citizens to report when they are victims or witnesses to crime. Regardless of the
14

Robert D Putnam, "Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital," Journal of Democracy, 1995, 65.
Detro1t One: VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION INITIATIVE.
16
Detro1t One: VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION INITIATIVE.
17
Barbara L. McQuade, U.S. Attorney: Violent crime is falling in Detroit, Detroit News (Detroit, MI), Oct. 10, 2014.
15

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shortage of officers, the implementation of this program improved the response time for the
police department and its homicide closure rate from 11 percent to 70 percent.18
Drawbacks
While this program is certainly a major milestone in addressing the problem of crime, it
has not been enough to completely eliminate the behavior of a vast majority of citizens due to
their self-fulfilling prophecies. Generally, the four steps to a self-fulfilling prophecy are as
follows: the perceiver has expectations about how the target will behave, the perceiver then
behaves in a way that is likely to elicit the expected targets behavior, the target indeed behaves
in a way that confirms the perceivers expectations, and the perceiver sees the predicted
behavior.19 This can be seen in Detroit with the perceiver being the media. Generally, the media
expects Detroiters to be violent. With this perception, it portrays the city as a gruesome,
dangerous place, causing any prospective city dwellers and business owners to turn away. With
the lack of jobs and tax dollars to stimulate the city, its citizens are left in despair, and often
resort to committing crimes, confirming the worlds negative views. How can a program based
on involvement in social capital be successful when many are still incapable of trusting their
neighbors? After all, these neighbors ended up leaving Detroiters with misery and still had the
audacity to blame them for the citys fall. Detroit Ones goal will only be accomplished when
these betrayed citizens learn to once again trust their neighbors, and ultimately comply with the
cause.
Conclusion

18
19

Barbara L. McQuade, U.S. Attorney: Violent crime is falling in Detroit.

"Self-Fulfilling Prophecy," University Of Michigan, http://www.umich.edu/psychol/.

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Organizations citywide have been identifying and targeting certain issues prevalent
within the Detroit community. With crime being one of the major concerns for the city, programs
are continuously being implemented to tackle this issue. Detroit One, a primary example of such
a program, utilizes the engagement in social capital as a solution. Although the issue of violent
action may take significant time to be resolved due to self-fulfilling prophecies driven by
propagated views of Detroit, Detroit One encourages its citizens to instill their trust within the
city and work together to create a better environment for all.

Bibliography

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Barbara L. McQuade. U.S. Attorney: Violent crime is falling in Detroit. Detroit News (Detroit,
MI), Oct. 10, 2014.
Crime in the United States 2013. Federal Bureau of Investigation. November 20, 2014.
http://www.fbi.gov/.
Heyes, J.D. Detroit police declare city to be 'war zone' unsafe for visitors, residents. Natural
News, Oct. 11, 2012.
MacDonald, Christine. Detroit led U.S. in murder, crime rates, FBI says. Detroit News
(Detroit, MI), Nov. 11, 2014.
Martelle, Scott. Detroit: A Biography. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2012.
Mayor Bing Announces "DETROIT ONE" Violent Crime Reduction Initiative. City of
Detroit. March 21, 2013.
http://www.detroitmi.gov/News/tabid/3196/ctl/ReadDefault/mid/4561/ArticleId/233/Defa
Def.aspx
Police Career. City of Detroit: THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF DETROIT. November 21, 2014.
http://www.detroitmi.gov/DepartmentsandAgencies/PoliceDepartment/PoliceCareer.
Putnam, Robert D. "Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital." Journal of Democracy,
1995, 65-78
Rybczynski, Witold. City Life (New York: Simon & Schuster), 1995.
"Self-Fulfilling Prophecy," University Of Michigan. Accessed November 26, 2014.
http://www.umich.edu/psychol/.
Sellin, Thorsten, Crime: Critical Concepts in Sociology. New Fetter Lane, London: Routledge,
2003.
Weinberg, Cory. Wayne State U. Puts Its Hopes, and Its Money, Into Detroit. THE
CHRONICLE of Higher Education (Detroit, MI), Sep. 6, 2013.
Wilk, Thomas A. High School Graduation Rates in the Metro-Detroit Area: What Really
Affects Public Secondary Education. Undergraduate Economic Review 5, no. 4 (2009):
95-142.