LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a new effort to combat gun violence Thursday.
Specifically, Operation: Safe Neighborhoods hopes to remove illegal firearms from streets as well as those with criminal histories, according to the Michigan governor’s office.
We’re told more than 450 state residents have died as a result of gun violence in the first six months of 2022.
“As a former prosecutor, public safety is a top priority for me. Michiganders deserve to feel safe as they go to work, drop their kids off at school, or run errands in their neighborhoods,” says Governor Whitmer. “We are working with law enforcement and state and local officials to prevent gun violence in Michigan in the wake of recent shootings. This year, I signed a budget into law to send local governments more money than they’ve received at any point in the last 20 years, including to hire and support additional police officers.”
The state of Michigan says its Department of Corrections recently partnered with law enforcement agencies to perform broader compliance checks on people who are on parole or probation to ensure they are not in possession of firearms.
Those efforts yielded 37 arrests with 25 guns seized in the past few weeks alone, the state tells us.
“Let’s work together to protect public safety, reduce crime, and get illegal guns off the street,” Whitmer adds.
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