OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Hearing for Police Department - March 23, 2026

City Council — Monday, March 23, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, March 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 47:14

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Councilmember Renata Miller has been noted as absent.

0:03

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago is noted as absent.

0:07

Councilmember Mary Waters.

0:09

President.

0:10

Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway.

0:12

Present.

0:13

Council President Pro Tem Call Me Young in a second.

0:16

Here.

0:16

Council President James Tate.

0:18

Mr.

0:18

President, you have a quorum.

0:19

Thank you.

0:20

We have a quorum, which means we're now back in session.

0:22

Uh colleagues, if we can note that we are at the uh quorum limit at this moment.

0:27

So we are locked in.

0:29

Uh please, please, please, unless you have an emergency.

0:32

I'll stick around so that we can continue these budget hearings.

0:36

And we will start uh the PM budget hearings with the police department.

0:40

Uh Chief Edison and team, please come on down.

0:54

Commissioner.

1:01

Good afternoon, Chief.

1:03

Thank you for being here and you and your team.

1:05

I don't know.

1:06

Do you have a PowerPoint that you all are gonna be running?

1:08

Yes, we do, Mr.

1:09

President.

1:10

I'm gonna make sure we set it up.

1:26

And you have anyone joining online?

1:27

I mean, y'all came deep in the room, so we we brought the whole team discussing.

1:34

I don't want any technical difficulties.

1:37

Understood, understood.

1:39

Okay, prepared.

1:43

I heard my tech man is he's here also in the back trying to get the PowerPoint up.

1:49

So Jackson.

1:51

We are been having some challenges as of late.

1:55

My team is uh going to assist him.

1:57

Let's see if we can get everything going.

2:12

Boom.

2:21

Floor is your chief.

2:23

To this honorable body, thank you for having us here today.

2:27

Um start out with um we'll switch to the next slide.

2:34

Um in recognition of Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher Platform.

2:39

Uh the Detroit Police Department is proud to stand in alignment with Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher Platform and Vision for Detroit.

2:47

Safe and just communities.

2:50

DPD will continue to evaluate existing programs and expand programs, services such as expansion of our mental health co-response unit.

2:59

I'm sorry, Chief.

3:00

I'm sorry.

3:00

Um can you remove that gentleman in the in the back, please?

3:04

He's distracting.

3:08

I just gave you one.

3:09

That's not a warrant.

3:10

I just did.

3:11

Bye.

3:13

That's another part of the law.

3:15

Run it up the chain, run it up the chain.

3:16

You may be released.

3:18

Thank you.

3:20

Sir, you may continue.

3:21

Thank you, sir.

3:22

Um, expansion of our mental health co-response unit.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Personnel Matters███████████13%
Crime Prevention████████9%
Procedural██████7%
Budget█████6%
Youth Programs███3%
Mental Health Awareness██2%
Technology and Innovation██2%
Diversity██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Hearing for Police Department - March 23, 2026

The Detroit City Council held a budget hearing for the Detroit Police Department (DPD) on March 23, 2026. Chief James Edison and his team presented the proposed FY2027 budget, discussed crime reduction achievements, recruiting efforts, and programs like the mental health co-response unit, CVI, and ShotSpotter. Councilmembers asked questions about recruiting Detroit residents, private tow trucks, the name of Homeland Security, CVI effectiveness metrics, and ShotSpotter's future. No votes were taken.

Discussion Items

  • Chief Edison's Presentation: Highlighted alignment with Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher platform. Reported record low homicides (165) in 2025, motor vehicle theft down 23%, carjackings down 45.8%, and larceny down 1.9%. Noted 2,932 investigative leads from NIBIN, 256 arrests from ShotSpotter, and 114 instances of officers providing life-saving aid. Emphasized expansion of the mental health co-response unit to 24/7 coverage and collaboration with the Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety.
  • Personnel & Recruiting (Director Petillo): Hired 335 officers in 2023, 293 in 2024, 219 in 2025. Current staffing at ~97%. Demographics: 73.5% male, 26.5% female; 55% Black, 37.5% White, 5.9% Hispanic, 1.5% other. 593 of 2,600 officers are Detroit residents. Highlighted partnerships with Cleary University (400+ graduates) and Wayne State University for leadership programs.
  • Budget Overview (Neverith Nazarko): Total proposed budget of $467 million across five funds, with 93.6% ($437M) for salaries/wages/benefits. General fund accounts for $447M. New initiative: $291,000 for mental health co-response sworn training.
  • Councilmember Waters: Questioned about recruiting Detroit residents—Chief noted efforts to recruit Detroiters but acknowledged many move elsewhere. Also raised concerns about private tow trucks (e.g., Gouchy) towing cars without permission; Chief agreed to work with council on state law changes.
  • Council President Tate: Raised issue of renaming DPD's Homeland Security division (currently focused on emergency preparedness) to avoid confusion. Noted he will submit a change to the Executive Order Proposal (EOP) by the 7th. Also asked how CVI effectiveness is measured; Chief explained they compare CVI hot spot areas to citywide trends, with some CVI groups beating trends by 70–75%. He noted that CVI addresses root causes and that the model is evolving.
  • Councilmember Johnson: Thanked Chief for addressing missing persons process. Questioned ShotSpotter effectiveness and its expiring contract (June 2026). Chief defended ShotSpotter, citing 256 arrests and life-saving benefits, and noted that many residents want it expanded.

Key Outcomes

  • Council President Tate announced he will submit a proposal to rename DPD's Homeland Security division by the 7th.
  • Meeting recessed to the call of the chair.
  • No votes were taken; the hearing was informational.

Meeting Transcript

Councilmember Renata Miller has been noted as absent. Councilmember Gabriela Santiago is noted as absent. Councilmember Mary Waters. President. Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway. Present. Council President Pro Tem Call Me Young in a second. Here. Council President James Tate. Mr. President, you have a quorum. Thank you. We have a quorum, which means we're now back in session. Uh colleagues, if we can note that we are at the uh quorum limit at this moment. So we are locked in. Uh please, please, please, unless you have an emergency. I'll stick around so that we can continue these budget hearings. And we will start uh the PM budget hearings with the police department. Uh Chief Edison and team, please come on down. Commissioner. Good afternoon, Chief. Thank you for being here and you and your team. I don't know. Do you have a PowerPoint that you all are gonna be running? Yes, we do, Mr. President. I'm gonna make sure we set it up. And you have anyone joining online? I mean, y'all came deep in the room, so we we brought the whole team discussing. I don't want any technical difficulties. Understood, understood. Okay, prepared. I heard my tech man is he's here also in the back trying to get the PowerPoint up. So Jackson. We are been having some challenges as of late. My team is uh going to assist him. Let's see if we can get everything going. Boom. Floor is your chief. To this honorable body, thank you for having us here today. Um start out with um we'll switch to the next slide. Um in recognition of Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher Platform. Uh the Detroit Police Department is proud to stand in alignment with Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher Platform and Vision for Detroit. Safe and just communities. DPD will continue to evaluate existing programs and expand programs, services such as expansion of our mental health co-response unit. I'm sorry, Chief. I'm sorry. Um can you remove that gentleman in the in the back, please? He's distracting. I just gave you one.

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