Monthly Archives: May 2013

Number of gun permits issued in Metro-Detroit area increasing

by Drawing Detroit | Leave a comment

In the state of Michigan, residents age 18 and older are legally allowed to purchase a pistol(1) with a purchase license from a private seller. At the age of 21, residents are allowed to purchase a firearm(2) from a Federal Firearms License dealer. However, no license is required to purchase a long gun(3) but the purchaser must be 18 years of age or older and have no criminal or mental illness health history.

Despite the decline in population in the Metro-Detroit area, the number of total gun permits and concealed pistol permits issued has been increasing substantially. This increase began in 2005 for Detroit and Wayne County and in 2007 for Oakland and Macomb counties.

(1)A pistol is a handgun where the chamber is integrated into the barrel.

(2)A firearm which is a portable, barreled weapon that launches one or more projectiles.

(3)A long gun is in the category of firearms where the barrel is longer and the gun itself is meant to braced against the shoulder while firing.

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The above chart shows the rate, per 100,000 residents, of the total number of gun permits issued in 2012. This rate is based on the December population estimates released from the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments. As can be seen, Macomb County had the highest rate of gun permits issued in 2012 at 3,189 and Detroit had the lowest at 1,227.

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The total number of gun permits issued in the City of Detroit began to increase in 2005 when 3,486 permits were issued. By 2012, 8,406 permits were issued despite the city’s declining population. By the end of April in 2013, 3,076 permits were issued, according to information provided by Michigan State Police.

Like the City of Detroit, the total number of gun permits issued in Wayne County also began to increase to in 2005. In that year 16,212 permits were issued and in 2012, 41,522 were issued, again in the context of a declining population. In 2012, 20 percent of the gun permits issued in Wayne County were issued in Detroit. By the end of April in 2013, 18,034 permits were issued, according to the Michigan State Police.

Since 1990, the total number of gun permits issued in Macomb County has consistently been below the number of permits issued in Wayne County. However, while the population in Wayne County has been declining, Macomb County’s population has been increasing, as have the total number of gun permits issued. Still the rate of gun permits in Macomb is much higher than the other counties. The number of permits issued in Macomb County began to increase in 2007.  In that year, 11,564 were issued and in 2012, 27,906 were issued. By the end of April of 2013, 12,973 gun permits were issued.

The total number of gun permits issued in Oakland County since 1990 has also been below the number of permits issued in Wayne County. However, more permits have been issued in Oakland County than Macomb County, with the exception of 1997 and 1998. Along with the increasing number of gun permits issued in Oakland County, the population has also been increasing. The number of permits issued in Oakland County began to increase in 2007; that year, 15,211 were issued. By 2012, 342,624 were issued and by the end of April in 2013, 16,467 were been issued, according to the Michigan State Police.

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To obtain a concealed pistol permit in the state of Michigan, one must be at least 21 years old and have been a Michigan resident for at least six months prior to applying for the license. The applicant must also have also completed a pistol training course and not have been convicted of a felony, a violent crime, or certain misdemeanors. An applicant must also be mentally stable, which means not having been committed for mental illness, being diagnosed with a mental illness or been charged with a crime where mental illness was deemed a factor. Exact details on the type of misdemeanors an applicant cannot have been convicted of within a certain time frame, along with other specifics on applying for a permit, can be found at Michigan.gov.

When a person obtains a concealed pistol permit, he or she is still not allowed to carry the weapon in federal buildings, schools, daycare centers, child-related centers and agencies, hospitals, dormitories, religious centers, sports arenas, bars, and dormitories and classrooms of colleges and universities.

While Macomb County had the highest rate of total gun permits issued in 2012, it had the lowest rate, per 100,000 residents, of concealed pistol permits issued.  The rate at which concealed pistol permits were issued in 2012 for Macomb County was 988 per 100,000 residents. For Oakland County the rate was 1,012 and for Wayne County it was 1,017.

The number of concealed pistol permits issued for the City of Detroit was not available on the Michigan State Police website.

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The total number of concealed pistol permits issued over the years has followed the same increasing trend as the number of gun permits.  The data on the number of concealed pistol permits issued is tracked annually from July 1 to June 30. Overall, there has been a higher number of concealed pistol permits issued in Wayne County than Oakland and Macomb counties. In 2012, 18,195 were issued in Wayne County, 12,407 were issued in Oakland County and 8,395 were issued in Macomb County.

STD’s in Metro Detroit:Chlamydia rates rise and Detroit females show most dramatic increase

by Drawing Detroit | Leave a comment

In this post, rates for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia are examined for the Metro-Detroit area. The Metro-Detroit area includes Detroit, Wayne County, Macomb County, and Oakland County. Detroit data is included in the Wayne County data shown. All rates are based on 100,000 residents and a 95 percent confidence interval. A confidence interval is a range of values that likely includes an unknown population parameter; the range is calculated from a given set of sample data.

Chlamydia rates in Detroit and Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties were on the rise from 1999 to 2011, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. When looking further into data on chlamydia for City of Detroit residents, it can be seen there was a higher rate of females for this sexually transmitted disease (STD) than males. The data also shows the number of chlamydia and gonorrhea cases was highest for those between the ages of 15-24 for all geographical areas examined in the post.

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Overall, from 1999 to 2011, the chlamydia rate increased for the state and all four geographical areas examined in this post. However, it increased at a much more rapid pace in the City of Detroit than it did in Oakland and Macomb counties. In 1999, the chlamydia rate in Detroit was recorded at 804 cases per 100,000 residents and in 2010, it reached a peak of 2,561. Note, however it declined in 2011 to 2,279. In Wayne County the rate was recorded at 417 per 100,000 residents in 1999 and 1,109 in 2011. For both Macomb and Oakland counties the chlamydia rate was recorded at 75 cases per 100,000 residents in 1999. By 2011, the rate was recorded at 307 cases per 100,000 residents in Oakland County and 233 in Macomb County.  The state as whole more than doubled across these years to 507 cases per 100,000.

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From 1999 to 2011, female Detroit residents consistently had a higher rate of chlamydia infection than Detroit male residents. Between 2006 and 2008, the rate of females infected increased from 1,902 cases per 100,000 female residents to 3,361. In 2011 the rate of females infected was reported to decline to 3,201 cases per 100,000 female residents and the rate of males infected was 1,239 cases per 100,000 male residents.

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In 2011, the 15-19 year old age group had the highest rate of females infected with chlamydia, at 17,156 cases per 100,000 female residents. For males, the 20-24 year old age group had the highest rate at 5,472 cases per 100,000 male residents.

No rates are provided for the 45 and older age group in the above chart because the data to calculate a meaningful rate is too broad because of the age range, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.

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Of the three STDs examined in this post, syphilis had the lowest rates of infection for Detroit and Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties. During the time covered it increased in Detroit and Wayne County then fell dramatically in several jurisdictions. During the time period examined, Detroit had the highest rate of syphilis cases. From 1999 to 2001 there was an increase in Detroit’s rate; the rate peaked  in 2001 at 97 cases per 100,000 residents. Detroit’s rate then decreased, reaching a low of 23 cases per 100,000 residents. Since then, the rate generally increased in Detroit; in 2011, the syphilis rate for Detroit was recorded at 41 cases per 100,000 residents.

Unlike Detroit and Wayne County, the syphilis rates for both Oakland and Macomb counties remained fairly consistent and low  since 1999. However, in recent years, the rates for both counties increased; in 2011, both counties recorded their highest syphilis rates of the examined period: 7 cases per 100,000 residents.

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The chart above demonstrates that Detroit males consistently had a higher rate of syphilis than Detroit females. In 2011, there were 66 males  per 100,000 male residents infected with syphilis and 21 females per 100,000 female residents infected.

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The above chart shows Detroit males between the ages of 20 and 24 had the highest rate of syphilis infection in 2011. When looking at the 2011 rates for Detroit females only, the 25-29 year old age group had the highest rate.

There is no rate provided for the 15-19 female age group because not enough data was available. Also, no rates are provided for the 45 and older age group in the above chart because the data was too broad because of the age range to calculate a meaningful rate, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.

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Similar to the syphilis rates, residents in Macomb and Oakland counties experienced relatively low and consistent gonorrhea rates from 1999-2011, compared to those in Detroit and Wayne County. In 2011, the gonorrhea rate in Macomb County was 60 cases per 100,000 residents; the rate was 82 per 100,000 in Oakland County. For Wayne County the gonorrhea rate in 2011 was 413 cases per 100,000 residents and it was 906 per 100,000 residents for Detroit. In 2008, a gonorrhea rate of 1,166 was recorded for Detroit residents; this was the peak during the time period examined, and it has declined somewhat since then.

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From 1999 to 2000, males had a higher rate of gonorrhea infection than females in Detroit. Between 2001 and 2004, males and females had similar rates. In 2005, the rate of females infected with gonorrhea began to surpass that of males. In 2011, the rate of gonorrhea for females was 1,102 cases per 100,000 and the rate for males was 795 per 100,000.

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For Detroit females in 2011, the 15-19 year old age group had the highest rate of gonorrhea infection. For Detroit males, the 20-24 year old age group had the highest rate of infection.

No rates are provided for the 45 and older age group in the above chart because the data was too broad because of the large age range to calculate a meaningful rate, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Michigan’s marriage rate consistently falls under U.S.;Half of Detroit’s population has never been married

by Drawing Detroit | Leave a comment

Marriage is typically described as a formal union between a man and woman, although in recent years certain states have been moving to allow marriage between couples of the same sex. In order for a marriage to be legal a marriage license must be obtained. As can be seen in the data presented below, the rate of those choosing to join in this union has been declining over the last 10 plus years. The marriage rate for the U.S. has consistently remained higher per 1,000 people than the rates in Michigan and the Metro-Detroit area (Wayne County, Macomb County, and Oakland County). The divorce rate in the U.S. has also remained higher in the U.S. than in Michigan; this rate has also been declining over the years.

The declining marriage rate has widely been attributed to increased cohabitation between couples and the decision by couples to marry at an older age. In this post we will examine the marriage and divorce rates for the Metro-Detroit area, along with the breakdown of who has been married, widowed, divorced and never married in the area.

All data for this post was obtained from the Michigan Department of Community Health and 2011 American Community Survey (three year estimates). For the American Community Survey numbers, the population considered was male and female residents ages 16 and over.

While about half of Detroit’s population has never been married, data shows that males  more than females were more likely to be married. More females in the area were divorced. Depending on the area, between 20 and 50 percent of residents in the Metro-Detroit area were married in 2011. Overall though, marriage rates in the area have been decreasing.

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Since 1999, Wayne County has had the lowest marriage rate per 1,000 residents of the seven counties that makeup Southeastern Michigan. After 2001, the marriage rate in Wayne County began to decline (going from 9.3 in 2001 to 9.1 in 2002); this overall trend continued until 2007 when the rate reached 7.3. Then, in 2008 the marriage rate began to increase, finally reaching 8.2 per 1,000 residents in 2011. With the exception of Monroe County, all counties in the region experienced an increased marriage rate in 2011 compared to 2010. St. Clair County had the highest marriage rate in 2011 at 11.4. The overall trend since 1999, however, shows a decreasing marriage rate.

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Oakland County had the highest total percentage of married couples in 2011 at 51.3 percent; according to the American Community Survey. The City of Detroit on the other hand had the lowest at 21.7 percent. The state average was 48.8 percent.

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According to the American Community Survey, there were a higher percentage of married males in from 2009 to 2011 than females. Oakland County had the highest percent of married males with 55 percent; Oakland County also had the highest percent of married females at 50.9 percent. Of the three counties examined, Wayne County had the lowest percent of married individuals (40.9 percent for males and 39.2 for females). Also, Detroit had the lowest percent married, for both males and females, of all the areas examined above. In 2011, 25.6 percent of Detroit males were married and 21.1 percent of Detroit females were married.

marriage6

The divorce rate per 1,000 people for both the U.S. and the state of Michigan has seen an overall declining trend since 1990. However, from 2006 to 2008 there was a 1.8 increase for the U.S. The state of Michigan also experienced an increases  from 2000-2001, 2005-2006, and 2008-2009.
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St. Clair County not only had the highest marriage rate for 2011, but it also had the highest divorce rate per 1,000 people of the seven county region. That rate was 7.9. Wayne County had the lowest divorce rate in area at 5.4.

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The number of divorces in the Southeastern Michigan area has remained fairly consistent since 2000 (long-term trend information on divorce rates for Michigan counties was not available from the MDCH). Wayne County has experienced the most change of the seven counties in the region; there was a drop of 1,614 divorces from 2002 to 2003. Since then, there haven’t been more than 5,778 divorces in a year in Southeastern Michigan.

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While there was an overall higher percentage of married males than females from 2009 to 2011 (as an average), the opposite was true for divorces. For Michigan, 12.3 percent of females were divorcees, compared to 10.4 percent of males.  The percent of both divorced men and women was highest for the City of Detroit, 11.5 and 13.2 percent respectively. Macomb County had the lowest percentage of divorced males and females, 9 and 12 percent respectively.

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Detroit had the highest percent of unmarried residents (percent never married) from 2009-2011 for both males and females. According to the American Community Survey, in 2011, 55.5 percent of males in Detroit  ages 16 and older had never been married and 50.7 percent of females age 16 and older had never been married. Wayne County had the second highest rate of unmarried residents; 42.9 percent of males 16 and older and older had never married and 37.4 percent of females 16 and older had never married. Overall, there was a higher percentage of never married males than females.

marriage13

Of the marital statuses examined in this post, the percent of separated married couples was the lowest. For the areas examined, the City of Detroit had the highest percentage of separated individuals. In 2011, the three year rolling average for the city was 3.8 percent for both males and females. Wayne County had the second highest percentage; 2.7 percent of female residents in the county were separated and 2.2 percent of males were separated. Oakland and Macomb counties were tied for the lowest percent of separated male residents at .9 percent; Oakland County had the lowest percent of females of at 1.2 percent.

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The percent of widowhood is much higher for females than for males in all the areas examined in this post, with the exception of the state as a whole.  For the state of Michigan, 10.4 percent of males were widowers for the three year average from 2009-2011, and 9.7 of females were widows. For the City of Detroit, 11.2 of females were widows while 3.6 percent of males shared the same status.  Oakland County had the lowest percentage for both males and females who had lost their spouse; 2.3 percent of males were widowers and 8.9 percent of females were widows.

Household composition in Metro-Detroit: Female family based households makeup majority of Detroit

by Drawing Detroit | Leave a comment

This post examines demographics of households in Detroit and the tri-county area, using information available from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey one-year estimates. According to the American Community Survey, female-run family households are the majority of households in Detroit. While the City of Detroit and Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties all have more family than non-family households, only Detroit has such a high percentage of female-run family households. Detroit also had the largest average household size and family size.

It should be noted that in this post Wayne County estimates include estimates from the City of Detroit as well.

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According to the 2011 American Community Survey data, Oakland County had a higher percent of males-52.3 percent-while Macomb and Wayne counties and the city of Detroit had a higher percentage of women.

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In 2011, Detroit had the largest average number of residents in a household (2.74) while Oakland County had the smallest (2.49). The difference between the two was 0.25 persons per household. Wayne County was 0.06 below Detroit, and Macomb County was 0.2 below Detroit.

According the U.S. Census Bureau, the average number of persons per household for each geographic location was obtained by dividing the number of persons in a household by the number of households in that geographic location. A household included all persons who occupy all types of housing units, except housing units classified as group quarters.

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Like with the average household size, in 2011, Detroit had the largest average family size (3.76) of the geographical areas examined while Oakland County had the smallest (3.12).  For all geographical areas examined, the average family size is larger than the average household size. Wayne County had an average family size of 3.47 and for Macomb County that number was 3.17.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people, one who is the householder, who are related by birth, marriage or adoption and reside together.

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The percent of family households in Macomb and Oakland counties is above 65 percent, while that number is below 60 percent in Detroit.  In Detroit, the percent of family households in 2011 was 57.3 and the percent of non-family households was 42.7. For Macomb County in 2011, the percent of family households in the county was 66.9; the percent of non-family households was 33.1. Oakland County’s distribution was similar to that of Macomb County, with 65.4 percent of the county consisting of families. In Wayne County, the percent of family households was 62.9.

A non-family household is defined as a person living in a household with non-relatives or alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A family household includes any unrelated sub-family members and/or secondary individuals; the householder is part of a family that consists of two or more people related by birth, marriage or adoption.

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The above chart demonstrates the composition of family households in Detroit as well as Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties.

Considering only family households in the Metro-Detroit area, the data show that Detroit had the highest percent of female householders with no husband. For Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties, married couple families made up majority of the family households. Macomb County had the highest percent of married couple families with 49.8 percent of all family households; Oakland County had 49.7 percent.

For all four geographic locations examined, a family based around a male householder with no wife made up the smallest percentage of the family-type households.

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According to age distribution data by the American Community Survey the largest segment of Detroit’s population are those between the ages of 5 and 14; this group makes up 14.1 percent of Detroit’s population. The 45-54 age group accounts for about 14 percent of the population; this age group accounts for the second highest percent of Detroit’s population. Those 75 and over comprise the smallest portion of Detroit’s population at 5.6 percent.

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Unlike Detroit, the 45-54 age group is the largest segment of the Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties population. For Wayne County, this age group makes up 14.6 percent of the population, for Macomb County it makes up 15.6 percent of the population and for Oakland County it makes up 16.2 percent. Like Detroit though, the oldest population makes up the smallest percent in Wayne County. For Macomb County though, those between the ages of under the age of 5 make up the smallest percent of the population, at 6.5 percent. For Oakland County it is those between the ages of 20 and 24 that make up the smallest percent of the population at 5.4 percent.

 

Detroit among the most dangerous and segregated cities

by Drawing Detroit | Leave a comment

In a recent study released by NeighborhoodScout four Detroit neighborhoods were considered to be among the most dangerous in the United States. Three Detroit neighborhoods-West Chicago and Livernois Avenue; Mack Avenue and Helen Street; and Gratiot Avenue and Rosemary-were considered the three worst. The Detroit neighborhood encompassed by Wyoming Street and Orangelawn Street was ranked number eight.

These rankings were devised through FBI data on violent crimes (murder, forcible rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault) and exclusive data developed by NeighborhoodScout, according to the website.

To see the rankings and a map of the neighborhoods click here.

In addition the dangerous neighborhood rankings, Detroit was also categorized as the most segregated city by Business Insider. Census data from 2010 was examined for this article by a two professors, John Logan and Brian Stults, and a dot map was created to show where certain races live in and around Detroit. The data shows that Detroit’s inner city is almost exclusively black, with a small Hispanic population, while the outlying suburbs has a highly concentrated white population.

This map, and maps of other segregated cities in the U.S. can be viewed here.