Detroit police present $455.5 million 2026 budget, council moves equipment and program requests to executive session

Detroit Police Chief Bettison presented the Detroit Police Department’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget to City Council on Tuesday, saying the department is “basically, a fully staffed police department” and reporting that violent crime declined across multiple categories as the department refocused staffing and technology.

The DPD’s proposed total budget for fiscal 2026 is $455,500,000, Chief Bettison’s team told council. The department said 92.3% of the general allocation is for salaries, wages and benefits; the proposal identifies $436,000,000 in the general fund, about $6,500,000 in police grants, $1,200,000 in the drug law enforcement fund and $11,100,000 in other special revenue funds, including toll and 9-1-1 communications accounts.

The presentation came after roll call and a quorum was declared. Council members used the hearing to press for details on neighborhood policing, equipment, mental-health co-response and new technology; several members asked that procurement and program proposals be moved to executive session for staff-level discussion.

Why it matters: The budget request directs the vast majority of funding to personnel and seeks modest new initiatives that would expand intelligence capacity and forensic and traffic resources. Council’s requests to review specific purchases and programs in executive session signal several near-term decisions about equipment and partnerships that could affect how the department responds to shootings, narcotics cases and large public gatherings.

At the hearing, Chief Bettison credited recent workforce gains and department reorganization for the declines in violent crime. “We closed a year out with, of course, record low crime numbers,” Bettison said, adding later that homicide levels were “the lowest it had been actually in six decades since 1965.” He attributed reductions in part to Project Greenlight and expanded analytic and enforcement efforts.

Key figures and staffing - Total DPD budget presented: $455,500,000. - General fund request: $436,000,000; police grants: ~$6,500,000; drug enforcement fund: ~$1,200,000; special revenue funds (toll + 9-1-1): ~$11,100,000. - Personnel is the dominant budget item: roughly 92.3% for salaries, wages and benefits. - The department reported it is at about 98–99% staffing and a net gain of roughly 342 officers since early 2023 (presentation remarks attributed to DPD HR director).

Unit increases and crime trends Chief Bettison listed targeted increases in several investigative units: a 55% increase in the Major Violators unit (narcotics-focused), a 17% increase in the FAST fugitive-apprehension team, a 50% increase in the Missing Persons unit and a 27% increase in the Vice unit. Bettison said those shifts allowed more enforcement on drug houses, warrant apprehensions, missing-person investigations and vice-related quality-of-life enforcement.

Crime statistics presented by the department included year-end declines: homicides down (chief cited a 19% decrease for 2024), aggravated assaults and other violent offenses down in the single digits, carjackings down 32% year‑over‑year, and nonfatal shootings down 24.6%. Bettison said total Part 1 offenses closed the year down about 4.38% and total property offenses declined about 3.1%.

Technology and forensic programs Assistant Chief Fitzgerald and the department outlined analytic and forensic efforts: DPD reported 2,599 investigative leads from the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) and more than 4,700 casings entered. The department said it has 39 square miles of ShotSpotter coverage and last year recorded 373 arrests stemming from ShotSpotter notifications. DPD also reported more than 6,200 weapons recovered in the prior year and more than 1,030 Project Greenlight locations. Fitzgerald told council the department has MOUs with 14 regional partners for ballistic comparisons.

Proposed new initiatives and costs (non-contractual items identified by DPD CFO Nevers Nizarco) - Intelligence specialists (new positions): $462,000 (salary). - Maintenance and operations for three helicopters: $827,000. - Traffic control officer salary increase: $270,000. - Forensic technicians and crime analysts: $800,000. Nevers told council the fiscal-year changes beyond contract salary increases reflect these new initiatives and some grant-related position changes; DPD said some grant-backed positions (ATPA, VOCA) are temporarily reduced and may be restored.

Recruiting and workforce demographics DPD HR said the department hired several cohorts of officers since 2022 and reported a substantial number of re-hires of former DPD officers. The DPD’s demographic snapshot for new hires included about 73.8% male and 26.2% female; 55.4% Black/African American, 37.5% white, 5.7% Hispanic and 1.4% other.

Council questions and follow-ups Council President Mary Sheffield and other councilmembers pressed for details about neighborhood policing, foot- and bike-patrol coverage, senior-building security, officer wellness and mental-health co-response. Chief Bettison said the department has expanded neighborhood policing, purchased bicycles for officers, added mental‑health–focused neighborhood officers and is increasing co‑response capacity with behavioral-health partners. He said the goal is eventual 24/7 co-response but acknowledged hiring and pay incentives for behavioral-health specialists remain a challenge.

Several councilmembers praised the Community Violence Intervention (CVI) work and urged state funding. DPD and council members said the Public Safety Trust Fund — if passed at the state level — would bring roughly $18,000,000 to Detroit and that ARPA-funded CVI support will need replacement once federal ARPA funds expire.

Motions and council direction (Votes at a glance) Multiple councilmembers made motions to move procurement and program items to executive session; no objections were recorded and council said those actions “shall be taken.” The principal items moved for closed review were: - Executive session to consider giving DPD testing capability for hemp/cannabinoid products (mover: Council Pro Tem James Tate) — action taken, no objections. - Executive session to consider purchase of a new cellular surveillance truck (mover: Council Pro Tem James Tate) — action taken, no objections. - Closing resolution review for possible purchase of a new BearCat or similar rescue vehicle (mover: Council Pro Tem James Tate) — action taken, no objections. - Executive session for the DPD driver-safety and rewards program (mover: Council member Angela Whitfield Calloway) — action taken, no objections. - Executive session to consider illegal street-party enforcement and expansion of the mental-health co‑response program (mover: Council member Coleman Young II) — action taken, no objections. - Executive session to consider body‑worn camera / AI-linked technology (mover: Council member Mary Waters) — action taken, no objections. - Executive session/appropriation review for a neighborhood trauma team and a personal alert program for residents with invisible disabilities, and creation of a safety-net tracking liaison FTE (mover: Council member Freya Durhal) — actions taken, no objections.

Council recorded these items as motions and, by unanimous consent (no recorded objections), set them for closed-session or further administrative review; the motions did not include roll-call vote tallies in the public hearing.

What council did not decide in public: No final contract awards, procurement approvals or program budget increases were authorized on the record at the hearing; council instead directed staff to review specified purchases and program proposals in executive session or as closing resolutions.

Ending: Chief Bettison and DPD leaders told council they will follow up with more detailed budget breakdowns, personnel counts by assignment and additional information about proposed procurements. Councilmembers said they will submit written follow-up questions and continue oversight through the council’s budget and public-safety committees.

Quotes (selected) “‘We closed a year out with, of course, record low crime numbers,’” Chief Bettison said. He added: “‘It’s the lowest it had been actually in six decades since 1965.’”

On community policing: “You’re going to see more officers that are on bikes and within neighborhoods as well because I just signed and purchased new bicycles,” Bettison said.

On enforcement of unlicensed cannabis/hemp sales: “First time, it’s a ticket. Second time, we move to shut you down,” Bettison said, describing vice enforcement activity.

On co‑response scaling: the chief said the goal is to hire enough behavioral‑health specialists “so that I can have co response 24/7.”