[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6301920,"mediaKeyId","2483230-6b98558dd450db5b16fc92b338dc9b09","parentId",2483230,"title","60‑1st District Court reports rising caseloads and expanded problem‑solving courts; grant funding supports programs","audioSeconds",977,"startMs",1059000,"endMs",2036000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2483230-6b98558dd450db5b16fc92b338dc9b09&start=1059&end=2036","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2483230-6b98558dd450db5b16fc92b338dc9b09/thumbnail_1059000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6301920/Grand-Rapids-City/Kent-County/Michigan/601st-District-Court-reports-rising-caseloads-and-expanded-problemsolving-courts-grant-funding-supports-programs","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6301920-bec87d72a27cad604019b25e913718e4/orig.mp4?Expires=1771201875&Signature=h2FeyOqrzBFtmIg~EgHULd5X2qWV7Avwc1w1I-7sybxBcY-iWwRK5Te~~jKpWWQaa03p2vzNK1yuIq0NHn5cu1dkXe2ApDkT-g9ZnHvwg4s4JxYc1-YsNMAlV3D~qMnXeNrSCTjQdGIZCzl8Pz9NfyFqIsCgdFCeyAo0n5bfYAB13rDvJmMSI9nAcwmLipPfsWc6m8Oax0OmszVLFT9uSM97E7G6fJB8t-lY0YLNvjyCaU2PJUpkzz3~2~uEhnfxOId3gs09RqlSU0LYbnvtYmIsHSKxy5CKAPt~u~Fc57yXeZI~H1KBPwc45ux03YgfPKgz7GLLjeFGg74FK5qG5A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","The City of Grand Rapids","date","2025-02-25T00:00:00Z","article","Eric Simon, court administrator for the 60‑1st District Court, told the Public Safety Committee that the court experienced a notable increase in new filings from 2023 to 2024 and outlined problem‑solving courts and funding that support them.

Simon said the court — which has jurisdiction solely over the city of Grand Rapids and comprises six judges — recorded a 14% increase in total new filings year over year. He said non‑traffic felony filings and misdemeanor non‑traffic filings each rose roughly 20% and civil filings (cases up to $25,000) increased about 51%. “To be an effective and efficient operation and a steward of public resources, it’s partly my responsibility with the bench to look at how we are to be as efficient and effective as possible in response to an increase in workload,” Simon said.

The court also described problem‑solving courts the bench operates: misdemeanor and felony sobriety courts, a drug court, a pilot domestic‑violence court and a community outreach court that works offsite with partners to remove barriers for people who are unhoused or lack transportation. Simon said community outreach court uses action plans, community service, record‑clearing services and bench‑warrant resolution to help participants resolve matters without fear of jail.

Simon outlined grant funding that supports those programs: approximately $400,000 annually from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration); more than $250,000 combined from the Michigan Drug Court Grant Program and the Office of Highway Safety; roughly $200,000 from the county’s Office of Community Corrections for the felony sobriety court; and county ARPA funds supporting a domestic‑violence initiative through an identified multi‑year period. Simon said total grant funding for the coming fiscal year stood at about $1.2 million.

The court administrator said problem‑solving courts show measurable community outcomes: according to materials provided to the legislature, unemployment among sobriety‑court program participants dropped by 88% and drug‑court graduates are four times less likely, while sobriety‑court graduates are three times less likely, to be convicted of a new offense within three years.

Committee members asked for historical context and operational data: Mayor LeGrand requested comparative filings back to 2018 to separate a possible COVID effect; Simon agreed to follow up. Committee members also asked about failures to appear and methods to improve court appearance rates; Simon said the court would follow up with data and collaborate with the city and county on solutions such as reminders and outreach.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Public Safety Committee - February 25, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The 60‑1st District Court administrator briefed the Public Safety Committee on rising filings, problem‑solving court programs and grant funding that supports those programs.","taxTitle","Grand Rapids City, Kent County, Michigan","taxId",3704,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6301925,"Grand Rapids OPA: FY24 surveillance report finds no disparate civil‑rights impacts; details drone and body‑camera use",591,196000,787000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2483230-6b98558dd450db5b16fc92b338dc9b09&start=196&end=787","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2483230-6b98558dd450db5b16fc92b338dc9b09/thumbnail_196000.jpg","/articles/6301925/Grand-Rapids-City/Kent-County/Michigan/Grand-Rapids-OPA-FY24-surveillance-report-finds-no-disparate-civilrights-impacts-details-drone-and-bodycamera-use","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6301925-5a3e73201b502e698781582036ed355b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771201875&Signature=AaIA7f90ZZnqoZ8r8BvFyCD0DAEazFnKU0~JT6iR7YLnY7Jk3nbRvLMcbDtHnurmLp~PzG9RvR1FGw3-31aXMJpWJL3WJRG1T23Mk42Di7nvGyXBxsu9NQ~1CjtnBn~kRsR5c2jspgwra9FM29LJM4bU6PdpsHVJI-9uzpdbFmX3TdKefSvvQwFPoYaEME96vVskVJh01hDur96MxVVoD9~8GDWVEAJljTY7f63GyMi2uQH70POmxqiHDRAxABrOmlAWj~GoTqSmzs8sgRcBPukXNUQGvGklNhuCHRCw3nFPbktrTK5sr~m6hUWzVfDrl21l07GuIAM3C8WOQ7~R1w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Office of Oversight and Public Accountability presented the City of Grand Rapids’ fiscal year 2024 surveillance report at the Public Safety Committee meeting, summarizing drone and body‑worn camera use by the Grand Rapids Fire Department and Grand Rapids Police Department and reporting no evidence of disparate civil‑rights impacts.

The report, presented by Nick DeRuyck, manager with OPA, said administrative policy 1503 governs the city’s use of surveillance equipment and surveillance services and that the policy excludes cameras intended to record inside city buildings, equipment to protect city infrastructure, and surveillance equipment acquired before March 24, 2015, the date of the original policy. “Surveillance equipment is operated by or at the direction of the city deliberately or inadvertently capable of capturing or recording data related to the activities of individuals on public or private property,” DeRuyck said during the presentation.

The nut graf: the report covers two primary sources of reportable surveillance in FY24 — fire‑department drones and police body cameras and drones — and summarizes counts, deployment purposes, ward locations, court‑authorized uses and departmental budgets to assess civil‑liberties impacts.

OPA reported that the Grand Rapids Fire Department recorded 177 drone flights in FY24, down 184 flights from the inaugural report; about 90% of those flights were training and roughly 10% were operational (reconnaissance, structure fires, water rescues, assisting other agencies, hazmat and missing‑person searches). OPA noted a set of very short “false start” flights (most under 10 seconds, the longest ~32 seconds) that the fire department said immediately preceded longer operational flights. Ward‑level breakdowns showed Ward 1 accounted for roughly 52% of fire‑department deployments; Wards 2 and 3 accounted for smaller shares. The fire department reported no complaints, no deployments subject to warrants for FY24 and $600 spent on drone deployment and maintenance.

On the police side, OPA said Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) uses daily body‑worn cameras; OPA tracks only policy violations and reported no body‑camera failures or misuse complaints in 2024. GRPD also added small unmanned aerial systems during the reporting period and logged 383 drone flights. Reported deployment purposes were primarily overwatch and locating persons (about 42–43%), with 14% for evidence collection and 1% for traffic views. Ward‑level counts showed Wards 1 and 3 accounted for approximately 41–40% of GRPD drone activity, Ward 2 about 16%, and outside or assistance flights about 3%. OPA said three GRPD drone deployments required search warrants or other court authorization.

OPA provided department budget figures: OPA paid $777,588.22 for GRPD’s body‑worn cameras; GRPD reported approximately $111,073 for its own drone operations. OPA said it analyzes potential disparate impacts on First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment interests and found no evidence of disparate impacts in the FY24 data. DeRuyck said OPA will continue collection on a quarterly basis and will include further analyses in future surveillance reports. He flagged two internal complaints from the inaugural report (CR 22019 and CR 22038) as still being litigated and said analyses pursuant to the administrative policy will appear in later reports. He also identified facial‑recognition and other artificial‑intelligence tools as a horizon issue for future policy consideration.

Mayor LeGrand and other committee members thanked OPA for the briefing and asked follow‑ups, including whether drone footage is tracked to arrests or prosecutions; GRPD’s chief said the linkage exists anecdotally and via evidence used in court, but the department does not currently report systematic case‑closure linkage in OPA’s format. OPA noted it will continue quarterly collection and analysis.

Looking forward, OPA will continue quarterly monitoring, provide further analysis once litigated complaints are resolved, and consider policy implications of emerging technologies such as facial recognition.

","Office of Oversight and Public Accountability presented the FY24 surveillance report to the Public Safety Committee, summarizing drone and body‑worn camera use by the fire and police departments, budget figures and forthcoming policy issues including facial recognition.","actionData","errors"]

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60‑1st District Court reports rising caseloads and expanded problem‑solving courts; grant funding supports programs

Grand Rapids OPA: FY24 surveillance report finds no disparate civil‑rights impacts; details drone and body‑camera use