Recent cases spotlight low bonds for violent suspects committing more crime

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The evening of the Lions preseason home opener, Detroit Police Chief James White was front and center in front of Ford Field along with other law enforcement officers on this Friday night.

White spoke about the efforts to keep people safe amid a surge in crime. Last weekend 19 wounded and five killed, while the weekend prior — 24 people wounded and seven were killed.

"We’re going to use our technology, our real time crime center, using patrols, data,"said Chief James White.

White pointed toward low bails in some cases for adding fuel to the fire.

"The officers show up day in and day out, to protect the community - but we need the back end of the judicial system to help us out, we’re rearresting folks," he said.

Case in point — a 14-year-old arrested Thursday night after leading police on a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle, all while one of the passengers continually shot at police with an assault rifle.

That 14-year-old out on bond — just two days he was arrested for allegedly shooting his girlfriend.

A judge had set bond at $8,000 — 10 percent

"I’m very confident in our plan, I am very confident in the professionalism of our officers, we need the rest of the parts to work, we need accountability across the board," White said.

So the million-dollar question is why are some bonds being set so low?

"It’s not the prosecutor's office, it’s not them and," said Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald, DPD. "We're having a lot of conversations so were going to continue going down that road and talk to the right people, hopefully we can make some progress."

Dashcam video of a 14-year-old with an assault rifle who was out of prison after being given an $8,000 10 percent bond for allegedly shooting his girlfriend.