Board of Police Commissioners seeks pay adjustments for investigators as council examines staffing and vehicles

The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners asked the Committee of the Whole to approve pay adjustments for senior investigators and supervising investigators, a request commissioners said reflects the findings of a city compensation study and aims to retain and attract experienced staff.

Daryl Woods, chair of the Board of Police Commissioners, told the committee the funds are already allocated in the budget and are intended to reconcile differences identified by human resources. "We are absolutely unequivocally not a rubber stamp entity," Woods said, urging support to avoid a return to longer backlogs in citizen complaints.

Chief Investigator Jerome Warfield told council the office has grown from smaller staffing levels and now operates with 41 full-time employees in total, including investigators and administrative staff. Warfield said there are 21 investigators on staff and that the requested changes do not create new positions; they would raise pay for existing senior and supervising investigators to market levels.

"There was a compensation study conducted through the city of Detroit, and these are their recommendations that the board of police commissioners have adopted," Warfield said. He said the office closed 937 cases last year and launched a new case management system that should further reduce backlog.

Council members pressed for operational details. Member Mary Waters asked whether the investigators were filled and whether the requested pay increases were budgeted. Warfield confirmed the staff are filled and that the changes are to existing positions. Member Angela Calloway(sic) questioned vehicle assignments and use, saying city vehicles should be parked at assigned offices and that some assigned vehicles appear to be used as personal cars.

Warfield and Woods said investigators use assigned vehicles for casework and that most vehicles are parked at the Board of Police Commissioners office at 900 Merrill Plaisance, with a small number of supervisor vehicles taken home for on-call needs. "The vast majority of the vehicles that are here are parked here overnight," Warfield said; he added that three supervisors plus his vehicle are assigned for home use to ensure rapid response when investigators are called.

Council voted by motion to send line item 7.2 to a formal session with a recommendation to approve. The motion was recorded as passed without objection.

Woods and Warfield said the commission's office has been focused on reducing a backlog and increasing production; Warfield said investigators take roughly six months to train and reach full productivity. The commission also indicated it will return during budget deliberations with additional information about stipends, mileage and potential reimbursement requests for commissioners.

Council requested additional documentation, including an organizational chart and a list of vehicles and staff using city-assigned vehicles. Member Calloway said she will audit vehicle assignments and noted potential savings if fleet usage is reduced.