This past year, the city of Lansing experienced fewer homicides and deaths from heroin overdoses than in 2021.
A total of 15 homicides were recorded in Lansing in 2022. That's a 40% reduction from the year before. It's been four years since the city has seen a decrease in homicides compared to the prior year.
Lansing Police Department Public Information Officer Jordan Gulkis attributes the reductions to the department’s efforts to engage with the community.
“At our core, we believe in building relationships. We are back to doing events like we were pre-COVID," she said in an email statement.
Those include spending time in schools for gang resistance classes and working with the Mikey23 Foundation to give kids a productive outlet. The Mikey23 Foundation teaches young people skilled trades.
Deaths from heroin overdoses also saw a decrease. Twenty-four people died of overdoses in Lansing in 2022, compared to 37 in 2021, according to data provided by the Lansing Police Department.
