I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, in Wayne County. What I recall is that there was practically an ongoing blood feud between Detroit, the county, and the state. Racism may not have been the only factor, but it was a decisive factor. I couldn't make sense of it at the time, being just a kid, but I think it might still be hard to make sense of today.

I certainly don't want to make any excuses for what happened, but one question that crosses my mind is: Did Detroit have any money to investigate these crimes, even if they had wanted to?