Detroit Law Department speaks before Detroit City Council on Sept. 2, 2025. Photo: Samuel Robinson
Starting next summer, the city of Detroit will lead the prosecution of some misdemeanors which will give the city more control over sentencing and should give the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office more time to handle violent crimes.
The Detroit City Council approved 8-1 an amendment to the city code through an ordinance Tuesday allowing its law department to prosecute misdemeanor crimes such as retail fraud, larceny and domestic violence.
Members of the city’s law department, who will serve as prosecuting attorneys for such misdemeanor cases, called the move a historic change in the way crimes are prosecuted in Detroit.
“This in my mind is a historic change we’re now bringing those prosecutions closer to the people of the city of Detroit, closer to oversight by Detroit officials,” said Douglas Baker, the chief of criminal enforcement at Detroit’s law department. “I think it will have an overall improvement in the sense that that kind of control will bring. It’ll be a win-win, for police law enforcement, for citizens it’ll be better for the city.”
City council president Mary Sheffield, the leading candidate for mayor, was the lone no vote, saying she had concerns with some of the financial changes that would be prompted by the switch. The city expects the change to cost approximately $700,000 to hire four attorneys and two paralegals. Some members, including Sheffield, questioned whether the policy would divert money away from other services. Law department funding has come largely from pandemic relief dollars that will dry up next year.
The ordinance was sponsored by councilman Scott Benson (District 3), who was also supported by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Detroit corporation counsel Conrad Mallett Jr.
Mallett said certain crimes are “quality of life issues.”
Worthy didn’t attend Tuesday’s meeting, but joined Mallett and Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison in July to support the proposal.
“This will ensure that crime victims have access to the justice system, regardless of the severity of the offense,” Benson said. “It also aims to help the county prosecutor prioritize resources for more serious crimes.”
Tony Guerroro, chief of legislation, grants and community relations for Kym Worthy’s office, thanked Benson and Gabriela Santiago-Romero for holding a public hearing on the proposed ordinance.
“These lower level crimes should be handled by the city,” Guerroro said.
While the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office says it will focus on violent crimes, the city says the greater control it will get from prosecuting certain misdemeanors could offer programs that could keep crimes of people’s records.
The ordinance allows the following offenses to be prosecuted by the city starting July 2026:
- Offering false statements to a police officer
- Failure to identify oneself to an officer
- Refusal to allow fingerprinting
- Assault and battery
- Domestic violence
- Leaving a child unattended
- Destroying trees, shrubs or other property
- Throwing objects at a train or vehicle
- Embezzlement
- Larceny
- Writing fraudulent checks
- Receiving or concealing stolen goods
- Retail fraud
- Theft by false pretenses
- Carrying a firearm while intoxicated