A month after he rolled out his proposed budget, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will make an address on his plans to beef up public safety from Flint, one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country.
The plan, which has been kept under-wraps, is thought to call for improved forensics to make case processing more efficient, according to the Associated Press. Snyder, who will speak at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Flint City Hall Annex, is expected to call for 20 more forensic scientists and spending $5 million on forensic services.
While he avoided focusing on Detroit in too much detail in his State of the State address in January, Snyder rationalized his budget plan by holding up the city's crime rate, as well as those of Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw, as the proof of a need to invest in public safety.
Last year, Flint and Detroit both made the top five on "Most Dangerous City" lists from Business Insider, Forbes and CQ Press, as determined by violent crime statistics, with Flint taking the No. 1 spot twice.
In February, the governor committed an addition $47 million from Michigan's general fund for the state police.
Snyder isn't the only one drawing attention to high crime rates. In January, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette cited an increase in crime and a statewide drop of more than 3,000 police officers over the last decade when he urged the governor to use $140 million from the state's one-time budget surplus to create 1,000 police officer jobs statewide.
Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee has also expressed a desire to add more officers to the force.
Before his public safety address Wednesday morning, a representative for Snyder told the Associated Press that $15 million would go towards enhancing law enforcement through victim protection and improvements to the criminal justice system.