Special Operations Unit

The Special Operations unit is a highly specialized section of the Sheriff’s Department. It includes a Special Investigative Unit that conducts in-depth investigations that take place over several months and deal with ongoing criminal enterprises, such as fraud rings or illegal establishments.

Special Operations also deals with basic quality of life issues that affect several communities, including:

Narcotics enforcement

Officers working on this unit deal with the drug trade in several different ways. After doing preliminary investigations, officers obtain search warrants on homes and businesses that are suspected for drug activity. They then perform a forced entry and search the building for evidence. Sometimes, officers will set up shop at drug houses, posing as the dealers themselves, to attack the demand side of the drug trade. When a buyer or seller of drugs is busted, their car is towed and impounded under county nuisance ordinance. In order to redeem their vehicle, the offender must pay a $900 fine, which offsets the costs of the sheriff’s department and prosecutor. In the first 10 months of 2003, officers towed 1,140 vehicles and so far have collected $429,000 that is being put back into enforcement.

Morality [prostitution] enforcement

As they do with narcotics, officers go after both the supply and demand side of the sex trade. In most cases, officers do surveillance on known prostitutes as they solicit johns. On a limited basis, decoy officers are used as well. After an agreement for sex is reached and money is exchanged, officers move in to make the bust. In 2003, officers have towed the cars of more than 1,200 johns. The unit has been so successful that the seizure revenues have allowed the unit to actually turn a profit. That money is being used to fund an additional unit of officers to expand the fight against the blight of prostitution in our neighborhoods.

To report suspected drug or prostitution activity, please call:
313-833-3190.

Special Response Team
This is Wayne County’s version of a SWAT team. Officers on this unit are trained to handle the most sensitive situations, including hostage scenarios and entry into illegal after-hours clubs that often contain hundreds of people, many of whom are armed. The unit has a trained hostage negotiator and officers who are experienced in surprise entry techniques and the use of high-powered weapons. The ultimate goal of this unit, however, is to end all situations peacefully, without the use of force and without causing injury. In order to be prepared for a variety of potential scenarios, the unit conducts training exercises, such as a recent courtroom hostage drill, seen here in the photo above.

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