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Michigan State Police brief committee on bureaus, services and program needs, including $1.3M request for victim advocates
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Summary
Sergeant Christina Droste and Sergeant Travis Fletcher presented an overview of the Michigan State Police’s bureaus, training, forensic services and victim‑support programs; MSP said it has about 1,800 enlisted and 1,000 civilian staff, noted forensic backlogs are driven by personnel constraints and said the governor’s executive recommendation included $1.3 million to add eight victim advocates.
Sergeant Christina Droste and Sergeant Travis Fletcher of the Michigan State Police gave the House Judiciary Committee a multi‑bureau overview of MSP services, training and operational support and answered committee questions about forensic backlogs, recruiting and less‑lethal options.
Droste described the MSP structure — field services, professional development, state services, and information and technology — and highlighted specialized teams used to support local agencies, including aviation, cold‑case teams, forensic scientists and intelligence analysts. She described training and recruitment initiatives at the Diamonddale academy, including a recruit preparation program and ongoing legal instruction for members.
Travis Fletcher summarized state services that operate behind the scenes, including the forensic science division, the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center, and the state 9‑1‑1 administration. He described the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division’s role in operating the state Emergency Operations Center and participating in mutual‑aid compacts such as EMAC.
On questions about forensic lab turnaround times, Droste said MSP publishes regularly updated average times by test type and that forensic backlogs (notably sexual‑assault kit processing) are chiefly a personnel and resource constraint; she said they are "normally under the 90" (context in transcript suggests a target timeframe) but occasionally cannot meet it. MSP said the department is transparent about timelines and posts data publicly.
On victim services, Droste told the committee the governor’s executive recommendation included $1,300,000 to hire eight additional victim advocates to expand services statewide. MSP also described the "Okay To Say" confidential tip line (24/7) for K‑12 student tips, saying it received about 10,000 actionable tips in 2023.
Committee members asked about less‑lethal weapons and training; MSP said it deploys a range of less‑lethal tools, is rolling out new tasers to the field for certain teams, and provides scenario‑based training both to MSP members and other agencies. MSP officials offered to follow up with more specific staffing numbers and lab backlog data on request.
The committee thanked MSP for the briefing and indicated it would follow up on funding and performance questions as the appropriations process continues.
