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Why public safety officials say gun violence is decreasing in Kalamazoo
January 4, 2023
Gun violence decreased in Kalamazoo in 2022, down drastically from a spike in 2020 and 2021.
Why? According to Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety leadership, a stepped-up outreach to youth in the community and a new intervention program have contributed to the decline.
“If you look at our stats, lately, since August, it’s been just a really steady decrease,” Boysen said. “Our numbers that we have now in the fall, in winter, are lower than what we had in the spring. So, we’re trending in the right direction.”
The number of people shot, and the number of shots fired decreased in 2022 after a spike during 2020 and 2021, according to data from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.
There were 1,238 incidents of shots fired in Kalamazoo in 2020, which is in part related to the COVID-19 pandemic, then-Acting Chief David Boysen told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette. There were 890 incidents in 2021.
There were 535 shots fired incidents in Kalamazoo in 2022, as of Dec. 28. There were 583 shots fired incidents in Kalamazoo in 2018, and 614 in 2019.
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