Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder wants to add 180 state troopers, hire 20 forensic scientists and expand drug and mental health courts throughout the state, reports the Detroit News. The public safety plan unveiled by Snyder in Flint on Tuesday includes strategies to fight truancy, joblessless and other root causes of crime in Michigan’s four most violent cities. The governor said he supports “smart justice” in Detroit, Flint, Saginaw and Pontiac.
Snyder did not say he would support funding for additional police officers in the four cities as some police chiefs had hoped. Instead, the first-term Republican governor detailed a series of initiatives targeting criminal activity and poverty. “Overall, it’s a good plan,” said Flint Police Chief Al Lock, who will see the city’s jail reopened and corrections officers embedded with his department under the plan. “Not having a lock-up has been a hindrance — the criminals know we don’t have a place to hold ’em.”