DETROIT – At least 32 Detroit police officers have been taken off the street after working without active law enforcement licenses, officials said.

The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) said in a statement that it is working with the police department to resolve the issue.

The unlicensed officers were hired between November 2019 and August 2024.

An initial investigation revealed that the police department did not request the reactivation of licenses when these officers were hired or rehired.

“If an officer separates his employment for any reason, his license becomes inactive by operation of law,” according to the MCOLES statement. “An agency wishing to reactivate an inactive license is responsible for filing an application with the Commission. The application for reactivation must include an executed oath and an attestation from the agency that the individual meets the Commission’s licensing standards.”

In addition, police agencies must confirm their rosters with MCOLES each January and notify the commission within three business days when an officer is hired, separated or their law enforcement authority has been removed.

If the licenses are not reactivated, officers are prohibited from exercising law enforcement authority.

The commission is working with the Detroit Police Department to audit all affected officers and ensure they are all cleared.

Detroit Police responded to the issue and said all officers were properly trained and were not aware of the issue.

“Internal audit and correspondence with MCOLES revealed that the license status of approximately 30 officers is reflected as either ‘lapsed’ or ‘inactive’. While this matter is under investigation, it appears to be the result of a failure to submit required documents to the State of Michigan. DPD can confirm that all officers have completed the appropriate training and that Human Resources is working to update each member’s respective file.

At this time, there is no indication that any member of this group was aware of this issue, nor does this oversight indicate the quality of work that each member does on a daily basis. Each member of this group will be temporarily assigned administrative duties to allow HR time to resolve this issue. The department notified the prosecutor’s office about this issue.”

Detroit Police Department Media Relations

All affected officers have been temporarily placed on administrative duties.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has been notified of this licensing issue.