Latest news with #PublicSafetyandViolencePreventionFund
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan House passes police funding legislation targeting high-crime areas
The Michigan House of Representatives passed legislation April 22 to increase police funding that gives priority to places dealing with highest number of violent crimes in the state. House Bills 4260 and 4261 would dedicate $115 million annually in sales tax revenue for a new Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund. Lawmakers took up legislation in the previous legislative session, but the bills never landed on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk. The proposal would initially distribute $72 million to local police departments, with money distributed proportionally based on a city or township's violent crime rate. The fund would also dedicate $1.5 million for a state grant program for community violence intervention initiatives, which seek to reduce violent crime through local outreach. Another $1.5 million would go to the state's fund for crime victims. Remaining dollars in the fund would go to county sheriffs. "Public safety is the most fundamental promise any government can make to its people," said bill sponsor state Rep. Mike Harris, R-Waterford, in a speech. His Democratic partner on the legislation — state Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn — called the policy proposal a "national model." "Now this fund will trust those closest to the pain," Farhat said in a speech. He also said it will incentivize law enforcement to spend the money effectively with modest funding cuts for communities that don't see a decrease in violent crime after receiving funding. "We want programs that work," Farhat said. The legislation passed 104-4 in the state House. Republican state Rep. Steve Carra of Three Rivers and Democratic state Reps. Carrie Rheingans of Ann Arbor, Phil Skaggs of East Grand Rapids and Dylan Wegela of Garden City voted against it. Wegela asked lawmakers to think of the opportunity cost associated with the bills. "What else could we fund with $115 million?" he said. He pointed out that some studies have shown no correlation between police spending and a reduction in crime rates. "We owe it to our communities to explore the crime reduction that comes from ending poverty, reforming criminal justice and reinventing our public safety institutions," Wegela said. Under the legislation, law enforcement would have wide discretion over how to spend the money. They could use it to recruit and retain officers and buy new patrol cars, for instance. But police departments could not use the money to obtain large vehicles designed for tactical use, facial recognition technology or chemical weapons. The legislation is a top priority for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who joined House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, for an April 7 news conference at the Detroit Police Headquarters to promote the bills. Michigan Politics: Haley Stevens jumps into Senate race, giving Democrats a presumptive early favorite Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel Jr. blasted Duggan in a statement the next day for standing with Hall — a supporter of President Donald Trump — as the Detroit mayor and longtime Democrat campaigns as an independent candidate for governor. Duggan's campaign shot back. "Curtis Hertel has made his stance clear: hating Republicans is more important than putting cops on the streets," Duggan's son and campaign manager Ed Duggan wrote in an April 9 email. The police funding bills next head to the Michigan Senate for consideration. Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@ or 313-296-5743. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan House passes police funding legislation
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan House passes bipartisan Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund
State Reps. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) and Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn). Michigan House photo. In a nearly unanimous vote, Michigan lawmakers in the state House passed a $115 million annual public safety fund aimed to decrease violent crime in communities. One of the sponsors for the bills to implement a Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund to fund local law enforcement agencies and community violence intervention groups around the state, Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) told media after the 104-4 vote on HBs 4260 and 4261 that preventing crime looks a lot different today than it did 30 years ago. In having conversations with his partner in the effort to secure the fund, co-sponsor Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford), Farhat said it's clear that the expectations and public demand for law enforcement to work in prevention, not just focusing on enforcement of law has made policing more and more expensive. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Go visit these departments. You will not see desk officers like you used to anymore. You're seeing everybody out on patrol. You're seeing people walking in neighborhoods… you're also seeing a demand for officers to do more than just drive a car around and pull somebody over for speeding. You're seeing investigative units, forensics units, that are doing online human trafficking cases… really sophisticated, really expensive stuff,' Farhat said. 'There's some cruel people out there in this world that we have to get to and we have to prevent them from preying on, whether it's young children or our seniors, and that's expensive.' Harris and Farhat have been urging their colleagues in Michigan's partisanly split legislature to put people over politics and approve the Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund which law enforcement leaders from around the state have said will allow them to hire more staff and strengthen gun violence prevention programs like some in Detroit which have reduced violent crime in some neighborhoods by up to 70%, according to the city. Now, the bills must make it through the Democratic-majority state Senate, where House Republicans are concerned lawmakers will try to tie in other measures rather than approve the package that Republicans and Democrats in the House agreed upon.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police officials applaud lawmakers as they progress public safety and violence prevention package
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison talks to lawmakers on the Michigan House Government Operations Committee about the need for public safety funding on April 17, 2025 | Photo: Anna Liz Nichols In 2024, Detroit saw the lowest number of homicides recorded in the city since 1965, a triumph Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison told lawmakers Thursday was achieved in large-part by community violence intervention programs that he says would be able to continue doing effective work if legislators pass a proposed state Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund. Bettison and police chiefs from Dearborn, Taylor, Livonia and other municipalities came to the Michigan House Government Operations Committee to offer support for a $115 million Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund being considered by lawmakers with the goal of distributing funds to local law enforcement to curb violent crime. Community violence intervention, or CVI, programs such as ShotStoppers, Detroit Friends & Family and FORCE Detroit were able to reduce violent crime by up to 70% in some service areas between November 2023 and January 2024, a report from the city found. The three programs in the report engage trusted community members in Detroit neighbors to implement tailored approaches to reduce gun violence in the city. And though the fund will help to save lives in cities with higher crime rates like Detroit and Flint, Bettison said, many municipalities in Michigan will dramatically benefit from being able to form or strengthen their own CVI programs to curb violence. Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) went through a list off estimated distributions for communities the members on the committee represent: $176,000 for Owosso, $1.9 million for Flint, $261,000 for Waterford Township, $50,000 for Ludington, nearly $500,000 for Muskegon, $3.2 million for Grand Rapids and $1.1 million for Warren. In Dearborn, one of Michigan's most populous cities and neighbor to Detroit, City Police Chief Issa Shahin said in addition to investing in CVIs, his department plans on using funds to hire more staff and officers to respond faster to calls and engage more proactively with neighborhoods before crime can occur. 'This is more than just funding. It's a commitment to public safety and smart, targeted and responsive to needs on the ground. I'll just be honest, policing is expensive. Communities want well-staffed, well-trained and well-resourced departments and that costs money,' Shahin said. 'This investment allows us to do that on behalf of our officers, our city and our residents.' The Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund, which was proposed for $75 million last legislative session with bipartisan support has since been increased to $115 million in order to dedicate $40 million to county sheriffs. The fund still has bipartisan support in the Republican-majority state House, but GOP leadership has raised concern that the Democratic-led state Senate won't take up the fund without trying to add other measures to it. The Government Operations Committee, which has three Republicans and two Democrats, passed the bills that create the fund, HB 4260 and 4261, out of committee unanimously Thursday, urging their colleagues in both chambers of the Legislature to work towards the common goal of safer communities. Funding public safety 'isn't about politics,' Harris said, 'it's about people.' 'It's about real families. It's about real neighborhoods, and it's about real law enforcement officers who need backup, and not just in the field, but here in Lansing from us.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bills to fund police in Michigan communities with high crime a priority in Michigan House
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, vowed Monday to swiftly put up police funding bills for a vote when lawmakers return from their spring break, building fresh momentum in Lansing for a top policy priority of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan that languished in the previous legislative session. Supporters of the bipartisan legislation characterize the proposed funding as a way to tackle violent crime in Michigan. House Bills 4260 and 4261 would dedicate a portion of Michigan's sales tax revenue for a new Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund that would provide a boost for police departments, specifically targeting communities confronting high rates of violent crime. The proposal initially would distribute $72 million in funding to local police departments, with money allocated to communities based on their violent crime rates. Places with higher crime rates would receive more funding. In subsequent years, places that don't see a reduction in their violent crime rates would see their funding cut. "If you don't get results, you're not going to get the money in the future," Hall said Monday during a press conference at the Detroit Police Headquarters. Under the proposal, $1.5 million also would go to the state health department to administer local grants to Michigan counties and municipalities for public health and Community Violence Intervention Initiatives. Another $1.5 million would go to a state fund for crime victims. Any additional funds available would go to county sheriff's offices based on the size of their police forces. In the last legislative session, Democrats passed a state budget that included $75 million for a Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund, but lawmakers never finished the job to create the fund. The Michigan House and Senate passed different versions of the bills to set up the fund, leading the policy to die at the end of the year when Democratic infighting and a Republican boycott derailed the final days of the previous legislative session. "We had the funds, but unfortunately too many House members decided to put political games ahead of the safety of our communities. I am pleased that these bills will finally be taken up and look forward to the Governor's signature," former state House Speaker Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, said in a statement Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, noted in a statement Tuesday that the Senate passed the legislation in the last session and highlighted Senate Democrats' legal battle with Hall over stalled bills from the previous session, including a measure to increase public employer contributions to employees' health care cost. "Senate Democrats take public safety extremely seriously, and the speaker could show his commitment to men and women in uniform by immediately lowering police and fire health care costs," she said. Duggan told lawmakers during the last legislative session that the proposed fund would help tackle violent crime in the places where it's rising. "There, I don't think, is any priority greater for government than keeping our residents safe. And if you don't feel safe in your home and in your neighborhood, nothing much else matters in your life," Duggan said during a June 21, 2023, hearing on legislation that was introduced last session. Duggan joined Hall Monday to champion the legislation once again, and also called on lawmakers to pass it during his State of the City address last month. Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said the funding would allow his fellow chiefs to hire more officers and invest in mental health and Community Violence Intervention efforts which seek to reduce violent crime through local outreach. Hall also mentioned police departments may purchase new equipment using the funds. More: Gunfire, explosions ring out from shooting range next to her home. And nobody can help. Under the legislation, police departments would have wide discretion over how to spend the money. But they could not use it to obtain large vehicles designed for tactical use, facial recognition technology or chemical weapons. Duggan commended Hall for coming to Detroit to discuss the police funding legislation. "I've dealt with Lansing for a lot of years. And for many years, you would rarely see a Republican leader in the City of Detroit," Duggan said Monday. Duggan — a longtime Democrat — has decided to run for Michigan governor as an independent candidate. Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@ or 313-296-5743. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan bills to boost to police funds in high-crime places
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan's GOP House Speaker and Mayor of Detroit push for expanded public safety funding
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (left) and Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) (right) pose for a photo after a roundtable discussion with law enforcement officials from around the state in Detroit on April 7, 2025. | Photo: Anna Liz Nichols A new public safety trust fund will reduce needless violence around the state of Michigan, the Republican state House Speaker and the Mayor of Detroit, a longtime Democrat who is running for higher office as an independent, declared alongside leaders in law enforcement Monday. However, both officials say the state legislature will have to put politics aside to get it done. Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has mandated that as soon as the House returns next week from a break, getting bills for a state Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund over to the Senate by the end of April is the highest priority for the chamber. The fund would dedicate $75 million in the state budget and millions more in sales tax revenue to fund public safety in local communities across the state, allowing police departments to hire more officers and invest in community violence intervention programs. Law enforcement officials from various cities and counties participated in a roundtable discussion Monday in Detroit on different needs in their communities and how they'd be better equipped to address them with the fund. And as the partisanly split Michigan legislature in the coming months will hammer out the details of the next state budget, Hall said this investment in crime reduction is paramount to the state. 'Listening today to our chiefs of police, if we get them the resources that they need, they're ready to hire more officers, they're ready to buy the equipment, and they're ready to patrol the streets and to ensure that we bring our violent crime rates down,' Hall said. For many years, it's been rare to see a Republican Party leader in Detroit, Mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan said, but having Hall in the city, eager to recognize it as an asset to be invested in, shows a turn in the tides of underinvestment in Detroit, which historically has the highest crime rate in the state. Duggan has caught vitriol from Democrats as a 'fox in the henhouse' for shifting off his Democrat label in favor of running as an independent candidate for the 2026 election for governor, a move that is expected to split votes with the Democratic candidate on the ballot. But Duggan said Monday he's had enough of politics holding up progress in Lansing and he's eager to see the Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund, which had bipartisan support last legislative session, get across the finish line with even more funding this session, despite concerns that the Democratic-led Senate may hold up the bills in order to negotiate for their policy priorities with the House. '…Senate Democrats voted for this without an add-on bill the last vote of the session in December. All you do is vote the same way you voted the last time. So hopefully the games are over and we'll get this done,' Duggan said. There will be metrics for effectiveness in the utilization of the fund's dollars, Hall said. Rather than focusing singularly on communities with high crime rates, the funds will be distributed and as communities utilize what they're given, the allocation will be adjusted for those municipalities that create results in public safety. It's not always areas recognized for high crime rates that find themselves in need of public safety investment, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said, noting the swift and robust response needed for a mass shooting at a splash pad in Rochester Hills, which is known for low crime rates. 'Everyone deserves a safe summer': Michigan officials respond to recent mass shootings Duggan and Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison noted how effective community violence intervention programs have been in Detroit, with Duggan saying that amid a string of deadly shootings last summer at block parties, participants in those programs were instrumental in deterring violence ways and limiting the need for arrests. 'This Public Safety Trust Fund will make a tremendous difference. It will allow chiefs of police in various cities to be able to fund their initiatives to hire more officers, which I will do, and be able to invest in mental health and community initiatives such as violence intervention, which we know will reduce this crime,' Bettison said. Michigan's Senate ends its own break for the spring this week and though leadership from that chamber has remained quiet on the subject of the fund, their Democratic colleagues who are pushing for the legislation in the House are urging lawmakers to swiftly take up the bills. Public safety is an every Michigander issue, Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) said. While there is plenty of talk in Lansing about the previous session and issues that divide the legislative chambers, Farhat said it's time to take a step outside the rhetoric, 'commit', and get policies through that benefit all Michiganders. 'The longer we wait, the more likely homicides and people will die. It's that simple. We give the folks that are in this room the money they need… they're going to disrupt the crime,' Farhat said. 'This is an issue that impacts every Michigander, whether you live in a blue district or a red district, whether sheriffs a Democrat or Republican, no matter where you live, you're touched by this issue. So just get it done. Take the politics out of it. Get it done.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
