Macomb County

The Detention Center

Macomb County Jail

• Operated byMacomb County Sheriff's Office
• HistoryCurrent facility dates to 1954 with four additions since; the office is 'third-largest in Michigan,' managing over 573 employees, per the About Us page
• New constructionThe county is building a Central Intake and Assessment Center (CIAC), approximately 159,202 sq. ft., to replace aging sections (D-Blocks, Maximum Security, Rehabilitation, Annex); demolition of older sections began July 2024, with completion expected mid-2027
• CapacityThe current facility has housed up to 1,500 inmates at peak; the new CIAC will add 278 beds, for a total system capacity of 1,178 beds
• Project cost/fundingThe CIAC project's estimated total cost is $228 million, described on the county executive's page as 'fully funded through a combination of federal, state, and county resources' for the capital construction project, 'with no tax increases'

Source: Macomb County - It's more than a jail · checked 2026-09-19

• ✓The jail is named
• ✗Who is in custody — not published
• ✓Beds and daily population
• ✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
• ✗Deaths in custody — not published
• ✗PREA audits — not published
• ✗Independent inspection — not published
• ✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
• ✓How to post bond
• ✓Phone, video and commissary rates

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Macomb County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-09-19. Nothing here says the jail is run well or badly. Every mark moves the moment the county posts the document.

The Building

You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.

• Year built1954
• Original costNot found
• Paid for byThe new Central Intake and Assessment Center replacement/expansion project (est. $228 million) is described by the county executive's office as funded through a combination of federal, state, and county resources, with no tax increase; this refers to the capital construction project, not ongoing jail operations
• BedsCurrent facility has housed up to 1,500 at peak; new CIAC adds 278 beds for a total system capacity of 1,178

The Sheriff

Sheriff Anthony Wickersham

• Runs the jailThe Sheriff's Office operates the Macomb County Jail, per the county's own About Us page
• How the office is filledElected, four-year term; the county's own page describes the office as 'a constitutionally elected position in Michigan' with sheriffs serving four-year terms, consistent with MCL 51.70
• Statutory basisMCL 51.75 gives the elected county sheriff custody of the county jail

Source: Macomb County - Sheriff's Office, About Us · checked 2026-09-19

The Judges

Michigan circuit and district court judges are elected on a nonpartisan ballot to six-year terms under Mich. Const. art. VI — state judicial officers, not county officials.

Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-19

The County Commissioners

They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.

• What they controlThe detention budget, the building itself, and the agreements that let other agencies rent its beds.
• What they don'tDay-to-day operations. The sheriff is separately elected and answers to voters, not to the board.
• The boardhttps://www.macombgov.org/departments/board-commissioners →
• Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →