DETROIT (Michigan News Source) — Detroit is buying back its jail for a dollar.

Under a new law signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on June 27, the city will take over the Detroit Detention Center from the state on August 1—assuming full control of the facility that has housed its inmates for more than a decade.

Method of operation.

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Located on Mound Road near East Davison, the Detroit Detention Center has been operated by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) since 2013, as reported by The Detroit News. But starting August 1, the site will return to city hands, along with responsibility for housing and processing inmates in the first 72 hours after their arrest.

According to Whitmer, this sale “will help save taxpayers money” and “support government efficiency by ensuring resources are put back in local governments.”

Detroit Police Assistant Chief JD Hayes told lawmakers the transition has been in the works for months. 

In fact, the department is actively training recruits to take over from roughly 75 Michigan Department of Corrections employees, who will exit when the state’s contract ends July 31. “We began a training schedule in which members of the Detroit Police Department are shadowing MDOC personnel throughout the daily operations,” Hayes said.

Detainees and bookings.

The facility can house 200 detainees at a time and processes about 1,500 bookings per month.

The state took over operations of the former Mound Correctional Facility nearly a decade ago as Detroit worked to emerge from 11 years of federal oversight triggered by a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit. The DOJ alleged systemic civil rights violations by the Detroit Police Department, including “excessive force” and “illegal detentions.”

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The state’s role in operating the facility was governed by a non-binding interagency agreement, which required 90 days’ notice to exit. MDOC informed the city in October of its intent to end the deal.

“The city has a very solid plan for taking it over,” Kyle Kaminski, legislative liaison for MDOC, said. “It will allow us to redeploy our staffing resources and our energy back into our core operations around the state.”