Wayne County committee reviews prosecutor and sheriff take-home vehicle reports; requests usage data

The Wayne County Committee on Public Safety, Judiciary and Homeland Security on Feb. 1 received reports from the sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices detailing county-owned vehicles taken home and used outside Wayne County.

Bonita Terry, chief administration for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, told commissioners the sheriff’s report showed 54 take-home vehicles in 2025 with three shared vehicles, compared with 46 take-home and two shared in 2024. "We have 54 take home vehicles in 2025 and 3 that were shared compared to fiscal year 2024 where there were 46 and 2 that were shared," Terry said.

Chief Bridal White of the prosecutor’s criminal investigations division described duties that justify take-home status for prosecutors’ detectives, saying many investigators respond after hours for subpoenas, witness location and victim transport and that those responsibilities are documented in the spreadsheet presented to the committee. "The duties lie with the individual detectives...a lot of times the detectives will be given assignments that require them to leave directly from home to take care of what they need to do," Bridal White said.

Commissioners asked for more operational detail. Commissioner Clemente asked whether the county has reports on how often take-home vehicles are called out; Terry said such a report likely exists and the committee requested it when time permits. Commissioner Wilson asked why vehicles are used outside Wayne County; Terry replied many deputies and employees live in neighboring counties such as Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw and that shared vehicles are common in certain units.

The committee classified items 1–3 as receiving files and approved them on a single motion. Commissioner Wilson moved and Commissioner Peterson Mayberry supported the motion; the packet reports the vote as "motion carried." The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.

The committee’s request for a follow-up report aims to quantify call-outs and clarify the decision process for assigning take-home vehicles. The presentation materials included a color-coded spreadsheet said to document responsibilities for each take-home vehicle; commissioners asked staff to supply the frequency data and any policy clarifications at a later date.

The committee took no further formal action on policy changes or limits to the take-home vehicle program during the meeting.