03/18/2026
๐๐ผ๐. ๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ต๐ฑ๐ฌ ๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐ป๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
LANSING, Mich. -- Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced nearly 950 illegal guns have been taken off the streets as part of Operation Safe Neighborhoods. Since the operation began, law enforcement officials have conducted 10,029 check-ins with felony offenders, leading to 948 illegal guns taken off the street. During sweeps, officers have also recovered illegal drugs and ammunition.
โEvery Michigander deserves to feel safe in their community,โ said Governor Whitmer. โThatโs why Iโm proud Operation Safe Neighborhoods has taken nearly 950 illegal guns off the street, making real progress to protect our communities and prevent violence before it happens. Together, letโs keep working across the aisle to protect communities, hold criminals accountable, and build a Michigan where every Michigander feels safe at home, school, and work.โ
โRemoving illegal fi****ms from our streets saves lives and gives families peace of mind,โ said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. โWith nearly 950 guns out of hands that shouldnโt have them, Operation Safe Neighborhoods is one of the many ways weโre working to build safer, more resilient communities, especially in neighborhoods that have been historically overlooked. We will keep showing up to prevent gun violence, save lives, and protect Michigan families.โ
Operation Safe Neighborhoods is a statewide crackdown on crime aimed at reducing gun violence by getting illegal guns off the street and out of the hands of people who cannot legally possess a gun due to prior criminal history.
โBy removing fi****ms from those who are legally prohibited from possessing them, Operation Safe Neighborhoods is helping to prevent violence and protect our neighbors,โ said Col. James F. Grady II, director of the Michigan State Police. โThis program is one part of a comprehensive approach to violence prevention in our state, which also includes efforts such as our Youth Violence Prevention Summits, statewide access to free gun locks, and efforts to ensure Michiganders know they can โStop a Plotโ by paying attention to the warning signs of violence and reporting them to law enforcement.โ
โThe vigilance and commitment of our MDOC agents and law enforcement partners continue to produce real results in protecting the public,โ said Director Heidi E. Washington, Michigan Department of Corrections. โOperation Safe Neighborhoods not only removes illegal guns off the street, but this initiative has also led to the discovery and confiscation of illicit drugs and other dangerous weapons such as pipe bombs. We will continue to hold returning residents accountable and assist in the prosecution for those found breaking the terms of their supervision.โ
โ๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐น ๐ด๐๐ป ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ธ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ,โ ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ ๐๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐. โ๐ง๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟโ๐ ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐น ๐ด๐๐ป ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐. ๐ง๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ธ-๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐๐ด๐, ๐ด๐๐ป๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐. ๐ง๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฑ๐ฌ ๐ด๐๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ. ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ป ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐.โ
Nearly one in three reported violent crimes in Michigan involve a firearm. This initiative builds on Governor Whitmerโs MI Safe Communities program that she launched in 2021 to invest in local police, get illegal guns off the street, and fund expanded opportunities in jobs, education, and the justice system.
About Operation Safe Neighborhoods
Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) parole and probation agents team up with local law enforcement across the state and conduct enhanced compliance checks on probationers and parolees who are legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
There are roughly 32,000 probationers and 8,600 parolees in the state, many of whom have been convicted previously of a gun crime. These individuals are supervised by more than 1,000 MDOC parole and probation agents. The plan the department devised and implemented is aimed at focusing on high-risk individuals who have weapons possession in their criminal history that could be used to commit further crime.
Governor Whitmerโs Record Breaking Public Safety Investments
Since taking office, Governor Whitmer has worked closely with local leaders, law enforcement officers, and community organizations to ensure people feel safe in their neighborhoods. The governor has signed seven balanced, bipartisan budgets, each making record investments to help communities fund local law enforcement departments and hire more first responders.
Since taking office, Governor Whitmer has invested over $1.7 billion into public safety. Last yearโs budget includes $60 million for Public Safety Revenue Sharing grants to provide cities, villages, and townships with additional resources for police services and to support community violence intervention efforts and $15 million for community violence intervention grants to reduce gun violence and save lives.
In April 2023, Governor Whitmer signed commonsense gun violence prevention bills that will establish universal background checks for all firearm purchases and safe storage requirements. In May 2023, Governor Whitmer signed bills establishing extreme risk protection orders in Michigan, ensuring police officers, health care professionals, and family members concerned about someone who may harm themselves or others can seek a court order to temporarily confiscate their fi****ms. In November 2023, Governor Whitmer signed bills disallowing convicted domestic abusers from owning fi****ms. In June 2024, Governor Whitmer signed ED 2024-4 to establish the Michigan Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to further work in gun violence reduction. This yearโs budget proposal includes $2.5 million to continue the work of the statewide gun violence prevention task force.
Governor Whitmer proposed the commonsense gun violence prevention legislation during her 2023 State of the State address and has worked with the Michigan Legislature, community groups, law enforcement, students and parents following the shooting at Michigan State University in February 2023 and the shooting at Oxford High School in November 2021 to get these commonsense measures that will reduce gun violence signed into law.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2026
Contact: [email protected]
