Schuette Releases ‘Public Safety Public Integrity & More’
LANSING – Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced the release of a report highlighting the achievements of the Department of Attorney General for 2011-2012. It provides succinct summaries of successful cases, important updates on Schuette’s initiatives and offers an overview of issues the department continues to tackle moving forward.
“This document measures me against my words and the challenges of my office, while also offering a snapshot report to you on what the Department of Attorney General is accomplishing for the taxpayers,” said Schuette.
“The dedicated men and women of the Department of Attorney General handle 40,000 legal cases and hundreds of consumer services each year. For each $1 appropriated to the department, the department records $76 in savings from successful lawsuits and recoveries of awards payable to the state. We provide true value for the hardworking taxpayers of Michigan.”
Areas of progress reported by Schuette and addressed in the report include:
- Public Safety
Public safety is Priority Number One with Bill Schuette and it runs through every one of the 21 divisions of the Department of Attorney General. A significant part of his attack on crime is a major proposal –“VO-4”—to tighten laws to keep repeat violent offenders off the streets, which was adopted by lawmakers in September 2012 and signed by Governor Snyder in October.
- Public Integrity
Less than a week after being sworn into office, the Attorney General formed the Public Integrity Unit to attack corruption in state and local government, protect tax dollars and strengthen public trust in government. The unit works with local, state and federal law enforcement to attack abuses of the public trust. Since January 1, 2011, the Public Integrity Unit has secured 19 convictions.
- Fighting Human Trafficking
Schuette created the state’s first Human Trafficking Unit to expose and prosecute human trafficking, which victimizes men, women and children. In 2011, he brought the first charges under Michigan’s human trafficking law. In 2012 came the first guilty verdict, a Detroit man being convicted of enslaving two girls. In total, Schuette’s Human Trafficking Unit has secured five convictions with several charges pending. Schuette has proposed strengthening human trafficking laws, seeking stronger protections for minors and more severe penalties for “johns” who solicit sex from minors. Schuette announced the formation of the Michigan Commission on Human Trafficking in early 2013.
- Protecting Children
In his first 21 months in office, Bill Schuette’s Child Support Division brought in $30 million that provided a direct benefit to 2,370 Michigan children. This is an accelerated rate of collections, with about half the dollars collected coming from people who have fled their responsibilities in Michigan. The Child Protection Services Division took on 915 new child protection cases, involving 1,751 children. The Michigan Cyber Safety Initiative, a school presentation showing children how to avoid dangers on the Internet, was shown 2,217 times to 199,537 children.
Click here to access the full report: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/03_21_13__PSPI-FINAL_415103_7.pdf.