Responsibilities
The Plymouth Police Department will investigate and prosecute all complaints made by any and all citizens that have had the unfortunate circumstance to be a victim of a crime in the city.
The detective assigned to a case will investigate the incident to its conclusion, whether a suspect is developed and prosecuted or until all viable leads have been exhausted. The Detective Bureau will handle all misdemeanor and felony cases submitted to a prosecutor. To contact a specific detective, call (734) 453-1234 ext. 219 and ask to be connected to the Detective Bureau. You may leave voice mail for the detectives when they are not available to personally take your call.
Processing a Criminal Case
Not every case goes to trial and not every case is handled the same way, however the following information is provided as a guide to what steps are involved in the processing of a criminal case. Be advised that not all of the steps will be completed in every instance and that variations may occur.
Warrant Request
When a detective believes that a crime has been committed and that a specific person has committed that crime, the detective submits a warrant request to the prosecutor's office requesting the prosecutor to authorize an arrest warrant.
Decision to Prosecute
The prosecutor determines whether a particular person should be charged with a crime and if so, what the specific charge should be, based on the information that has been provided.
Warrant Issuance
The detective takes the warrant authorization request before the District Court and asks the court to issue an arrest warrant for the named person, charging a specific crime. At a short hearing, the court must determine that there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and that the named person committed the crime. If it does, the court will issue an arrest warrant.
Arraignment
Once the warrant is issued the defendant can be arrested. Once arrested and charged with the crime, the defendant appears in District Court for arraignment. At the arraignment, the defendant is given notice of the charge(s) and advised of their constitutional rights. The conditions and amount of bond are determined and a date is set for preliminary examination.