Black man speaking into microphone on blue table with many pieces of paper and a nameplate that says, “Bryan Ferguson. Commissioner.” He is wearing glasses and a suit. He is sitting to the right of a Black woman wearing red glasses and red attire.
Bryan Ferguson reflecting on his time as the chair of the Board of Police Commissioners. His term ends June 18.

Detroit Board of Police Commissioners Community Meeting, May 11, 2023

Dan Ignacio

A summary of this meeting will be added soon.

“We have given our police too much money and too much control, and if we want to cure our city of crime, we’ve got to look elsewhere.”
— Yvonne Jones of the Coalition for Police Accountability and Transparency speaking against a proposed $5 million expansion of the Detroit Police Department’s license plate recognition system.

Table of Contents

This documentation is a work in progress. Information that has not yet been determined is enclosed in [brackets].

Documentation

The meeting was live-blogged on Mastodon and Twitter for Detroit Documenters, which offers its own report.

Documents available on Documenters.org, including the meeting agenda.

The agency’s last meeting on May 4 was documented by Amelia Benavides-Colón and Damien Benson. The next meeting on May 18 was documented by Alex Klaus and Zak K.

Visit the agency’s website for official information.

Materials

Archived pages

Mastodon posts and meeting page are archived on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Audio

The actual start of the meeting (6:30 p.m.) can be heard at the start of the recording. This recording has not been altered.

Images

Screenshots of online meeting.

Audience of at least 20 people, seated, facing six people sitting at a wide conference table draped in blue, with more empty seats. Two people are walking to the table. The room is painted white without windows. The graphic at the bottom says, “Channel 21. Board of Police Commissioners. Community Meeting. May 11, 2023. Eighth Precinct @ Crowell Recreation Center.”
Person speaking at podium. They are wearing glasses and a black, formal Detroit Police uniform, and they have dark skin and a bald head. Sign language interpreter Stephanie is wearing glasses, earrings, white blouse and black shirt; they have brown skin and brown hair.
Person speaking at podium. They are wearing a headband, glasses, gold earrings and red shirt; they have dark skin and black hair.
Presentation slide with array of photos, which show people’s faces. The slide reads, “Missing: 5/4/2023 - 5/10/2023. Yousif Alogaili. Meiya Casey. Megan Curry: found. Brian Darrell. Jerry Duncan. Demartey Hawkins. Found. Reginald Washington Jr. Maria Torres. Christopher Robinson (Lisa Brazil). Kristen Moser. Anyone with information about any of these missing persons is asked to call the Detroit Police Department at (313) 596-2260.
Chair Bryan Ferguson speaking into microphone, sitting to the right of Vice Chair Annie Holt.
Commissioner Jim Holley speaking and gesturing with hands, sitting next to Chair Ferguson and Commissioner Lisa Carter.
Detroit Police Department Deputy Chief DeShaune Sims speaking, sitting next to Commissioner Willie Burton.
Vice Chair Holt speaking, seated next to Commissioner Linda Bernard and Chair Ferguson. Holley is also seen.
DPD Deputy Chief Franklin Hayes speaking at podium.
Commissioner Bernard speaking and gesturing with right hand. Vice Chair Holt is writing.
Audience watching DPD Deputy Chief Hayes speaking to commissioners.
Presentation slide which reads, “City of Detroit. Board of Police Commissioners. Share Your Voice. Over New Police Surveillance Board of Police Commissioners Community Meeting. Thursday, May 11, 2023 • 6:30 PM.”
Presentation slide that says: “Next Steps. On May 25, 2021, the City of Detroit passed its Community Input Over Government Surveillance (CIOGS) ordinance. The ordinance requires, among other things, a Surveillance Technology Specification Report be written by the police department ‘in conjunction with the Board of Police Commissioners.’ License Plate Readers were first procured by the City of Detroit in 2017, prior to the CIOGS ordinance. However, out of respect for the voice of the community, BOPC is hosting this public hearing to get the community's feedback on the expansion of LPR surveillance technology. Your feedback will influence the decisions the Board makes regarding the LPR Specification Report.”
Presentation slide that says: “Under Review: Expanding DPD Use of License Plate Surveillance. The Board of Police Commissioners is reviewing DPD's request to spend $5 million to expand its use of License Plate Readers (LPRs) to help prevent auto thefts and catch crime suspects. DPD currently uses mobile and stationary LPR systems. The now request expands police surveillance with more stationary high-speed cameras, automated image detection, and other LPR technology. The BOPC review includes a public hearing and is part of BOPC's civilian oversight role and its work for the 2021 City Ordinance for Community Input into Government Surveillance.” A map of Detroit shows Current LP Locations in red and Proposed LPR Locations in yellow. Below, it says: “BOPC Note: The maps shows about 50 red and about 100 yellow dots.”
Presentation slide that says: “Preliminary BOPC Questions and DPD Responses. How many LPRs are currently in use? 85 stationarv Genetec. 110 mobile Genetec (mounted in 55 vehicles). 3 mobile trainers with Genetec. 33 Flock. What is the current functionality of LPRs in the field? Stationary Genetec and Flock LPs are located at intersections; and mobile Genetec are in vehicles. They all capture photos of plates and vehicles from behind the vehicle. They all provide alerts when a captured plate matches that of a stolen or wanted vehicle. How are LPs different from other technologies? LPRs of all kinds are able to distinguish a plate number and have that plate cross referenced in system databases to match with stolen or wanted vehicles. Other types of cameras may capture a clear image of a license plate, but they require a person to view the image and manually read the license plate to cross reference. What is the current annual cost for LPRs, and new budget for LPs with expanded specs? Total Contract Amount: $5 million. Total Development cost: $3.8 million. Annual Fixed PR cost: S3.000. Annual mobile PR cost: $0. What is the rationale for expanding LPRs? LPRs are a powerful tool for both real-time and investigation support. Alerts generated when the system matches a license plate to that of a stolen or wanted vehicle allow the Department to quickly research and confirm that lead. Once confirmed, officers can be quickly dispatched to attempt to recover the vehicle. Once a vehicle is identified through an investigation, LPR information is searchable to confirm it that vehicle was or was not in proximity to that crime, and it so, where it has been in recent days.”
Presentation slide that says, “Additional BOPC Questions and Preliminary Edits. Will each LPR be 100% fixed or are they portable, mobile, or a combination? Are image angles only from the rear, or will they also be form the front (as some states license plates are also on the front) and/or side? Similar to AMBER Alerts, will the technology also sync with Silver Fox, LEIN, and NCIC (National Crime Information Center)? What is the geographic scope of the AMBER Alert integration (i.e. Michigan, Ohio, national)? Are there any DPD policies that are changing with the expansion of LPRs? What is the efficacy of the currently deploved LPs?”
Presentation slide titled, “Potential Specification Report Edits.” It shows six excerpts of a document and a note that says, “Note: Potential new language in red. Potential stricken language in red (strike).” In this alt text, “Potential new language” is in [brackets] and Potential stricken language is in {curly brackets}. First excerpt says: The proposed technology is intended to advance the following [constitutional] purposes: Auto-theft prevention and deterrence: Apprehension of suspects and fugitives; Locating AMBER Alert vehicles; Furthering investigations of serious crimes: and Other legitimate law enforcement purposes (e.g. crime analysis).” Second excerpt: “The following uses of the technology are expressly prohibited: [To take photographs of personal property;] To take still-photographs of individuals; Traffic enforcement; or Track an individual's movements outside of a vehicle.” Third excerpt: “The proposed contract provides that the City of Detroit / Police Department owns all of the data collected. [DPD will audit data every 15 days to check for protected information collected by the technology.] In the event protected information is collected, the Police Department will cause for its deletion [within 30 days]. [Upon identifying that protected information has been collected, DPD will report the following to the Board of Police Commissioners within 15 days: Type of information collected; Date range of collection; Extent of impact (i.e. how many person’s informiation was collected); DPD members who had access to the information; Date and method of destruction.]” Fourth excerpt: “The Police Department's policies and procedures allow for the retention of LPR information for up to one year. However, any hits or reads that were not used in a criminal investigation will be automatically deleted by the system after 30 days for Flock cameras, and 90 days for both Motorola Vigilant, and Genetec cameras. If the Police Department preserves LPR information for use in an investigation, it will fall under the retention and destruction requirements for case files and not under the retention requirements for LPR information. [This is a DPD only policy and is in compliance with Michigan State Law/MCOLES.]” Fifth excerpt: “The Police Department has entered into Data Sharing Agreements with a number of law enforcement agencies. Under no circumstances are members of the department [or other law enforcement agencies within a sharing agreement] authorized to share information for the purpose of assessing immigration status or enforcing immigration laws.” Sixth excerpt: “Data Retention: Insofar as the privacy of the public can be storage of mass surveillance data, what rules and procedures will cover the retention of surveillance data, including those governing: (a) The limited time period, [up to one year] {if any}, surveillance data will be retained. Such information shall include a statement explaining why the designated retention period is no greater than that which is absolutely necessary to achieve the specific purpose(s) enumerated in the Surveillance Technology Specification Report;”
Presentation slide that says, “Public Comment Thought Starters. Ask questions about the use and function of the technology. If the answers aren't here today, we will follow up! Also consider answering some of these questions: Do you agree that License Plate Reader technology should be expanded? What do you think about LPRs as a solution for identifying the location of stolen vehicles and missing persons? Would you propose to add or remove anything from the list of proposed uses of LPRs: Auto-theft prevention and deterrence; Apprehension of suspects and fugitives; Locating AMBER Alert vehicles; Further investigations of serious crimes; Other legitimate law enforcement purposes (e.g., crime analysis). Would you propose to add or remove anything from the list of prohibited uses of LPRs: To take still-photographs of individuals; Traffic enforcement; Track individual's movements outside of a vehicle”
Presentation slide that says, “Next Steps. BOPC Staff will analyze the public's feedback on the LPR Specification Report, and discuss edits with DPD. Based on public and Commissioner feedback, BOPC Staff will draft recommendations to the Board for consideration at the 5/18/2023 meeting.”
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Current Department Staffing. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Apr 2023” shows the following data: 2434 Sworn Positions Filled, 650 Civilians Positions Filled; 212 Sworn Positions Vacant, 148 Civilians Positions Vacant; 2646 Sworn Total Positions, 798 Civilians Total Positions.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. 2023 Sworn Recruiting (7/1/2022 to 4/30/2023). 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Sworn Recruiting 7/1/2022 to 4/30/2023” shows the following data: 3276 Total # Applicants, 59 # In Progress, 262 Withdrew #, 1921 Archived #, 439 Temporarily Disqualified, 454 Disqualified Permanently, 191 # Awaiting MCOLES.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. April MCOLES testing. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Apr 2023” shows the following data: 154 Written Scheduled, 135 Physical Agility Scheduled; 101 Written Appeared, 81 Physical Agility Appeared; 68 Written Passed, 54 Physical Agility Passed; 33 Written Failed, 27 Physical Agility Failed; 2 Written Rescheduled, 12 Physical Agility Rescheduled; 0 Written Withdrew, 3 Physical Agility Withdrew; 51 Written No Show, 39 Physical Agility No Show.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Total New Hires. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Apr 2023” shows the following data: 36 Sworn, 27 Civilians, 0 Police Assistants, 63 Total New Hires.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Detroit Residency Information. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Apr 2023” shows the following data: 553 Detroit Total Sworn, 1843 Non-Detroit Total Sworn; 433 Detroit Total Civilians, 217 Non-Detroit Total Civilians; 15 Detroit Police Assistant, 23 Non-Detroit Police Assistant.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Attrition. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Apr 2023” shows the following data: 14 Sworn, 11 Civilians, 0 Police Assistants, 25 Total Attrition.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Leaves of Absence / Restricted Duty. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Apr 2023” shows the following data: 13 Sworn FMLA Continuous, 8 Civilian FMLA Contiuous; 71 Sworn FMLA Intermittent, 75 Civilian FMLA Intermittent; 10 Sworn PPL, 0 Civilian PPL; 0 Sworn Medical Leave, 5 Civilian Medical Leave; 1 Sworn Military, 5 Civilian Military; 0 Sworn General Leave, 0 Civilian General Leave; 157 Sworn Restricted, 10 Civilian Restricted; 19 Sworn Disabled, 1 Civilian Disabled; 16 Sworn Sick, 2 Civilian Sick.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Monthly Seperations. 05/11/2023.” A table titled “April” has the following data: 3 P.O Retired, 5 P.O Resigned, 1 P.O Dismissed, 9 P.O Total; 1 Investigator Retired, 1 Investigator Total; 3 Sergeant Retired, 3 Sergeant Total; 0 Lieutenant Total; 1 Detective Retired, 1 Detective Total; 0 Captain Total; 0 Commander Total; 0 Deputy Chief Total; 0 Assistant Chief Total; 8 Total Retired, 5 Total Resigned, 1 Total Dismissed, 14 Total Total.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Human Resources. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Separated vs New Hires 2022/2023” shows the following data: 21 New Hires Jan, 31 Separated Jan; 21 New Hires Feb, 20 Separated Feb; 0 New Hires Mar, 25 Separated Mar; 35 New Hires Apr, 22 Separated Apr; 10 New Hires May, 26 Separated May; 22 New Hires Jun, 34 Separated Jun; 9 New Hires Jul, 30 Separated Jul; 21 New Hires Aug, 39 Separated Aug; 39 New Hires Sep, 33 Separated Sep; 28 New Hires Oct, 27 Separated Oct; 16 New Hires Nov, 15 Separated Nov; 12 New Hires Dec, 24 Separated Dec; 24 New Hires Jan, 14 Separated Jan; 37 New Hires Feb, 14 Separated Feb; 33 New Hires Mar, 9 Separated Mar; 36 New Hires Apr, 15 Separated Apr. The rest of the slide reads, “In Jan-Apr 2023, DPD had a net gain of 77 officers.”
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Department Separations 2022 vs 2023. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Department Separation 2022 and 2023” shows the following data: 31 Jan 2022, 14 Jan 2023; 20 Feb 2022, 14 Feb 2023; 25 Mar 2022, 10 Mar 2023; 22 Apr 2022, 15 Apr 2023; 26 May 2022, 5 May 2023; 34 Jun 2022, 0 Jun 2023; 30 Jul 2022, 0 Jul 2023; 39 Aug 2022, 0 Aug 2023; 33 Sep 2022, 0 Sep 2023; 27 Oct 2022, 0 Oct 2023; 15 Nov 2022, 0 Nov 2023; 24 Dec 2022, 0 Dec 2023.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Police Recruiting. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Separations to Other Depts 2022 to Present” shows the following data: 3 Feb, 14 Mar, 13 Apr, 8 May, 22 Jun, 12 Jul, 23 Aug, 25 Sep, 12 Oct, 6 Nov, 6 Dec, 3 Jan, 2 Feb, 2 Mar, 3 Apr, 2 May. A thick two-way arrow with the text “Contract Renewal” is placed over the bars from Nov to May.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Student Police Officer Summary. 05/11/2023.” A table titled “Training Academy Hiring and Graduation Schedule” has the following data: 12/19/22: 26 Entered, 0 Certified, 20 SPOs Remaining in Class, 05/26/23 Graduation; *01/30/23: 25 Entered, 2 Certified, 20 SPOs Remaining Class, 06/30/23 Graduation; **02/27/22: 37 Entered, 9 Certified, 26 SPOs Remaining in Class, 07/28/23 Graduation; **03/27/23: 32 Entered, 3 Certified, 31 SPOs Remaining in Class, TBD (Aug) Graduation; **04/28/23: 36 Entered, 5 Certified, 30 SPOs Remaining in Class, TBD (Sep) Graduation; Totals: 156 Entered, 19 Certified, 127 SPOs Remaining in Class. The rest of the slide reads: “(14 of the 19) were demobilized (certified). Upcoming Class. Start Date: 5/30/23. Class Size: 30+. Reinstatements for May: 10. Total for May: 40. Laterals for 2023: 1.”
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Reinstatements. 05/11/2023.” A blue bar chart titled “Reinstatements 2014 to Present” shows the following data: 4 2014, 0 2015, 2 2016, 2 2017, 5 2018, 8 2019, 7 2020, 3 2021, 11 2022, 24 2023.
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. 2022 / 2023 Reinstatements.” A blue chart on the left titled “Reinstatements Requests by Month” shows the following data: 2 Sep-22, 14 Oct-22, 9 Nov-22, 6 Dec-22, 10 Jan-23, 12 Feb-23, 12 Mar-23, 4 Apr-23. A blue chart on the right titled “Status of Reinstatement Requests” shows the following data: 38 Approved, 13 Denied, 8 Processing, 9 Withdrew. The rest of the slide says, “Since announcement of new contract on 9/28/22: Requests — 68. Approved - 38. Hired — 32.”
Presentation slide that says, “Detroit Police Department. Recruiting Initiatives. New Partnerships. Previous Week; Downtown Biz Job Fair; City Airport Job Fair; Spring Resource Fair w/ Mary Sheffield; 11pct speaks w/ Air Guard; SPO Graduation, Greater Grace; HQ Job Fair-Skylar Room; Crime Vitim's Walk and Fair; Lincoln-King High School Career Fair; Durfee Innovation Weekly Career Event; Michigan Works Job Fair; Career Fair at Crockett Midtown High School; Voyageur College High School Career Day; Western International High School/ talk to seniors; Detroit School of Arts/ talk to seniors on college Decision Day; Detroit International High School for Young Women/Decision Day; Wayne State University Criminal Justice Hiring Event and Ice cream Social; Michigan State University Undergrad Career Event; Upcoming: Westside Academy of Cyber Security/ talk to seniors; Fredrick Douglas Academy/ talk to seniors; Scheduled Colleges visits: Women's Resource Fair WCCCD NW Campus; OCC Police Academy, Monday, May 1, 2023; Oakland Community College/ talk to police academy students. 4-year institution: High schools to conduct “Meet & Greet”; Social Media Footprint: DPD Media -working on campaign strategy and developing specific social media outputs as recruiting. MCOLES: Testing a minimum of four (4) times a week. The written examination (Monday's and Wednesdays) physical agility test (Tuesday's and Thursday's). Internships: Mayoral Fellowship; Grow Detroit Youth Talent. 05/11/2023.”
Presentation slide that says, “Police Recruiting.” A graphic says, “Detroit Police. Now Hiring | $85K*. 313-596-8890,” and shows a photo of nine police officers on or in front of a black armored SWAT vehicle.
DPD Personnel Director Katrina Patillo speaking at podium.
DPD Cpt. Brian Bowser speaking at podium.
Four audience members remain sitting with many seats empty or taken away.

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Page published July 10, 2023.

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