Contrary to FBI statistics, more than 100 Detroit homicides were left off the books last year, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy told the Detroit Free Press. Worthy said the Detroit Police Department underreported that 306 people were killed in 2008. She said the homicide number is actually 423. The FBI reported this week that murders last year dropped 22 percent in Detroit, from 392 in 2007 to 306.
Rod Liggons, Detroit police spokesman, said Police Chief James Barren acknowledged that the homicide numbers reported to the FBI last year were erroneous, mostly because of misclassifications. For example, if a person is shot and dies three days later, that shooting may not be upgraded from assault with a weapon to a homicide. Barren said the number of homicides was likely 339.