Michigan

What is CLEMIS? The Michigan law enforcement data program, explained

Published

4 weeks ago

February 22, 2026

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What is CLEMIS? The Michigan law enforcement data program, explained

The entity consolidates and provides a slew of critical information to more than 250 law enforcement agencies, fire departments and courts.
One of its essential functions is a search tool for law enforcement. Similar to Google, an inquiry on a name or address can yield vital details for law enforcement.
The entity was created as a part of Oakland County government years ago, but recently spun off as an independent, quasi-public agency.

For roughly 60 years, an increasing number of law enforcement and other agencies throughout metro Detroit have relied on a specific data collaboration tool: the Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System, more frequently referred to as CLEMIS.

The name is a bit of a mouthful, and the organization itself deploys a fair amount of jargon to describe its function. But at its core, it’s a search system that currently helps more than 250 agencies in the region work together to serve their various law enforcement or broader public service missions.

Typically, elected officials and the agencies that use the system applaud it. But it is not without a bit of controversy, unearned or otherwise. And it’s going through arguably the biggest change in program history, spinning off from the county government where it was founded to become its own, semipublic agency.

What does that matter, and why should you care? Great questions − we try to answer them here.

What is CLEMIS?

Until very recently, it was a function of Oakland County government. It’s an organization overseeing a group of public agencies working together to share information. Drilling down a bit more, it is various technology options typically used by law enforcement or comparable groups to find, record, track and analyze information.

It’s modeled on the state Law Enforcement Information Network system, called LEIN. When a Michigan State Police trooper pulls you over and “runs” your information through their system, chances are they are using LEIN.

CLEMIS goes beyond what members can find in LEIN: If police interviewed someone, ran their license plate or otherwise interacted with them and recorded that information, an officer can use CLEMIS to find that information.

It’s an investigative building block. According to a 2022 CLEMIS presentation created to describe the program, “CLEMIS provides public safety agencies immediate access to critical information during day-to-day operations and at a time of crisis.”

The system is billed to work just like an internet search tool: Think Google or Yahoo. An officer for a member agency can search using a slew of categories, including:

Names
Property
Addresses
Arrests (mugshots displayed)
Businesses
Crime Incidents
Identifiers
Aliases

CLEMIS draws from not only information entered by its own members, but also from Michigan Secretary of State driving records and images, the Michigan Department of Corrections inmate database, FBI criminal and stolen property records, local police databases and LEIN.

“CLEMIS hosts, updates, and maintains the central system allowing police agencies to focus on criminal justice,” the 2022 presentation states.

Who uses CLEMIS, and why?

In general, many law enforcement, fire departments and court systems in southeast Michigan use CLEMIS.

Roughly 130 police departments and county sheriff’s offices throughout metro Detroit are members, according to a list on the Oakland County government CLEMIS website. The Detroit Police Department is not a member, but there are an array of agencies from Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and other counties, including:

Ann Arbor Police
Berkley Public Safety
Clawson Police
Dearborn City Police
Grand Blanc Township Police
Hamtramck Police
Huntington Woods Public Safety
Port Huron Police
Romulus Police
Ypsilanti Police

Sheriff’s offices in Huron, Lapeer, Lenawee, Oakland, Saint Clair and Washtenaw counties are also members, according to the same list.

Agencies policing institutions of higher education are also members, including University of Michigan Public Safety.

More than 50 fire departments are also CLEMIS members. While they do not have access to the same criminal data available to police, they can use CLEMIS for fire and EMS incident reports, personnel records management, training and more.

Member agencies include departments in Auburn Hills, Farmington Hills, Livonia, Royal Oak, South Lion and the Wayne County Airport Authority.

Nearly 50 Michigan court systems use CLEMIS, according to the Oakland County website. There are various applications offered by CLEMIS that might be useful for district court employees, ranging from access to encounters that may be relevant for probation departments to “legible tickets with immediate access in an electronic database,” according to the 2022 CLEMIS presentation.

The 6th Circuit Court in Pontiac, the main circuit court for Oakland County, is a member, as are district courts from Warren to Southfield.

Lastly, a handful of other agencies have access to CLEMIS. That includes the Michigan State Police, the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and federal probation officers working with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Who controls CLEMIS?

In recent months, after years of work, CLEMIS formally left the county and became a public authority. That essentially means a semipublic, standalone agency that is currently pursuing tax-exempt status.

It posts agendas and minutes, is subject to the Freedom of Information Act and publicly provides details about its funding and contracts.

“This new authority is now focused on standing up a new organization, transferring assets from the county and building new systems that will help us provide transparent, accountable and affordable services for current and new communities for the next 60 years,” reads a statement a PR firm working for CLEMIS provided to the Detroit Free Press.

“The current timeframe is to have this transition completed by September 30, 2026. Currently, CLEMIS services are being provided by existing county employees through user agreements with Oakland County.”

Why is CLEMIS controversial?

Not everyone within Oakland County government wanted CLEMIS to become its own authority, arguing doing so would obviously lead to less control of the organization.

In the months leading up to the spin-off, the county announced a whistleblower informed the administration of County Executive Dave Coulter that a company run by a county employee was awarded a six-figure contract to help with IT services for CLEMIS.

While the company never received any of the money, a subsequent county investigation revealed the awarding of the contract violated state law and county policy. Two county employees resigned, two were suspended and a county commissioner filed a report with law enforcement.

In December, a spokesman for the Michigan State Police told the Free Press the agency reviewed the complaint and “found nothing to investigate.”

More recently, critics noted ICE, the federal agency leading President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, has access to CLEMIS, including data from agencies or cities that purport not to assist with federal immigration efforts.

A Coulter spokesman said the county will not renew its contract for ICE to access CLEMIS when it expires at the end of March. Oakland County Commission Chairman Dave Woodward, who also sits on the new CLEMIS executive committee, also said he would not vote to approve any similar deal between ICE and the authority in the future.

How is CLEMIS funded?

Members pay a fee for every officer in their agency. In 2025, Bo Cheng − then a private consultant for CLEMIS while it was still under Oakland County and now its executive director after it became a separate authority − told the publication Government Technology it planned to charge each member agency $500 per officer.

Additionally, Oakland County government approved sending the new CLEMIS Authority $10 million when it formally spun off to become its own entity. Recently, the authority also voted, in part, to “maintain the current 5% annual increase to membership fees.”

What’s the big deal about CLEMIS?

It’s a massive, publicly funded data-sharing system that allows metro Detroit law enforcement and some other agencies to access private and critical details about scores of people. And it wants to grow.

While the the authority serves about 250 agencies now, a key leader last year told the publication Government Technology he wants CLEMIS to serve 2,000 agencies in 10 states by 2030.

That’s not happening yet, though: in a statement to the Free Press, the PR firm hired by the CLEMIS Authority said the organization, “is in the formative stages, and we are not currently able to receive users or add members, including law enforcement agencies at this time. We look forward to providing updates in the months ahead as we launch our new, independent authority consistent with good government practices that promote transparency and accountability for taxpayers.”

Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com.

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Michigan

Battle of the bigs could be at center of Michigan-Saint Louis clash

Published

9 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Battle of the bigs could be at center of Michigan-Saint Louis clash

Billikens coach Josh Schertz called the Wolverines the best team in the country.

Buffalo, N.Y. — It’s no secret that stretch bigs have given Michigan problems this season.

And it’s no secret that Saint Louis runs a five-out offense with one of the premier shooting big men in the country in Robbie Avila, who sports goggles and has an endless supply of color nicknames.

When push comes to shove in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament second-round matchup at KeyBank Center, the battle between the centers could be at the center of determining who secures a spot in the Sweet 16.

“We’ve learned that against pick-and-pop bigs, if you allow a direct pass, they’re going to shoot about 25% to 30% better. If they make one or two, you need to be prepared to go to your contingency plans quicker than usual,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “We’ve played this defensive philosophy for several years, so we know what can beat it on a given night. We know what the holes in the defense are. But it’s just like everything else, there’s a give and take.

“We’ve got to be OK giving up what we’re going to give up. And if we feel like that’s not going to put us in a position to win, we’ve got to be adaptable enough to pivot and change it on the fly. But that’s kind of where each game is a little bit different. You take all this information and try to predict what’s going to happen, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”

The 6-foot-10 Avila — who has monikers like “Cream Abdul-Jabbar,” “Larry Nerd” and “Milk Chamberlain” — has been a long-range threat throughout his college career, from his time at Indiana State to his two seasons at Saint Louis.

But he’s as dangerous as ever as a trailer and pick-and-pop option, knocking down a career-best 63 3-pointers at a career-high 41.7% clip. That, according to May, has added “a whole other element” to his game and certainly has Michigan’s attention.

It also creates defensive predicament for the Wolverines, with big man Aday Mara, the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year and top shot blocker, possibly being pulled away from the rim at times against a Saint Louis team that was cutting and getting to the rim at will in its 102-77 obliteration of Georgia in the first round.

“I think I can guard outside, too,” Mara said. “It’s going to be a tough matchup, because how talented he is, he can do everything. I just got to be ready for everything.

“I like the way he plays, because he reminds me a little bit of me. I think we have similar style of game. I like to see another big being able to create and pass the ball. It’s fun to watch him.”

Maybe not as fun to defend him, though. Forward Morez Johnson Jr. has experience with that, crossing paths with Avila as the two grew up in the same area in Illinois.

“I’ve been knowing Robbie forever. Robbie can pretty much do everything,” Johnson said. “But I think we’ve played a lot of good frontcourt players.”

Stretch bigs gave Michigan’s defense fits in both games against Wisconsin. In the first meeting, the Wolverines played the percentages and didn’t guard 6-10 forward Aleksas Bieliauskas out on the 3-point line. They ended up paying a price.

Bieliauskas, who entered that matchup shooting 29.6% from deep (8-for-27) and with one 3-pointer in the previous five games, burned Michigan with a season-high five 3-pointers. Combined with 6-11 forward Nolan Winter, a 30.2% 3-point shooter on the season at that point, the two made nine of Wisconsin’s 15 3-pointers in an upset and handed Michigan its only Big Ten loss during the regular season.

In the rematch between the teams in the Big Ten tournament semifinals, Wisconsin’s bigs once again were a thorn in Michigan’s side. Bieliauskas hit three 3-pointers, but this time it was 6-10 Austin Rapp who went nuclear. Rapp tied his career high with six 3s, all coming in the final 9:26 and many of those coming on drive and kicks.

There were several lessons to take from those experiences. May, for starters, said Michigan needs to do a better job of challenging passes, being prepared to rotate or switch depending on the game plan, and disrupting the opponent’s timing and rhythm.

Forward Yaxel Lendeborg cited giving Mara more help when he’s in off-ball defense and fanning out when he’s on ball to force the ball handler away from the middle of the court.

Forward Will Tschetter, Johnson and Mara all pointed to the importance of guarding the ball and not giving Saint Louis — a team that ranks in the top 10 in both 2-point shooting and 3-point shooting, with five players shooting at least 40% from 3-point range — any advantages on dribble drives.

“After you overhelp, there’s going to be players wide open for 3,” Mara said. “I think if we do a better one-on-one defense, that is not going to happen. I’m not going to need to maybe help the rim, so they’re not going to find those wide-open shooters. By doing that and being quicker when they get the ball to be there with one hand up, those things are very important.”

It all has the makings for an intriguing chess match between Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz and May, who are close friends that talk weekly and often share ideas.

Schertz called the Wolverines the best team in the country, with their elite talent, their ability to hurt teams in different ways on offense and their knack to make things hard for opponents defensively.

Michigan has a unique team with its frontcourt size across the board. Saint Louis is unique because its offense revolves around Avila rather than a traditional point guard.

The key question is who is going to guard Avila?

“Is it Mara, is it Johnson, is it Yax? Where do they put Mara?” Schertz said. “The thing with Robbie is he can find mismatches and he does a good job of triggering a layering offense. His ability to provide spacing, he’s obviously an incredible shooter and passer. He’ll be a focal point for us, regardless. He always is.

“I think (Avila’s) ability to provide horizontal spacing, take bigs away from the basket, opens up driving and cutting lanes, and we’ll need all of that. … We’ll need the best version of him and everybody else against Michigan.”

The same could be said for the Wolverines, who will need to be on top of their game defensively and find an answer to a problem they’ve struggled with at times.

“(Avila) is like the hub. Everything runs through him,” guard Nimari Burnett said. “At the same time, they all play well off each other. He’s a big part of what they do, and we look forward to the challenge.”

NCAA Tournament

NO. 1 SEED MICHIGAN VS. NO. 9 SEED SAINT LOUIS

▶ What: Second-round NCAA Tournament game

▶ When: Saturday, 12:10 p.m.

▶ Where: KeyBank Arena, Buffalo, New York

▶ TV: CBS

▶ Records: Michigan 32-3, Saint Louis 29-5

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins

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Michigan

Michigan vs. Saint Louis scouting report, prediction for March Madness second round

Published

21 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Michigan vs. Saint Louis scouting report, prediction for March Madness second round

James Hawkins of The Detroit News breaks down Michigan’s second-round opponent in the NCAA Tournament and predicts the outcome:

Michigan vs. Saint Louis scouting report

▶ Saint Louis (29-5) set a school record for victories in a season in dominate fashion. The ninth-seeded Billikens shot 58% from the field and set numerous program marks for an NCAA Tournament game in Thursday’s 102-77 shellacking of No. 8 seed Georgia, including points scored, field goals (42), assists (27) and margin of victory. Per KenPom’s rankings, the Bulldogs (No. 37) are the highest-rated team that Saint Louis has beaten this season and just the third top-50 team, after Santa Clara (No. 38) and VCU (No. 42), who both made the Big Dance.

▶ The Billikens rank in the top 15 nationally in numerous offensive and defensive categories. On offense, they’re second in 3-point shooting (40.2%), sixth in field-goal percentage (50.9%), 10th in made 3-pointers (10.9) and assists (18.3) per game, 10th in scoring offense (87.2 points) and 11th in 2-point shooting (59.6%). On defense, they lead the nation in opposing field goal percentage (37.9%), rank fifth in 2-point field goal percentage (44.6%) and are seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (29.8%).

▶ Redshirt junior guard Kellen Thames and redshirt sophomore guard Trey Green led the Atlantic 10 in 2-point shooting (67.8%) and 3-point shooting (45.7%), respectively. Green’s 3-point mark also ranks third in the nation and headlines a long-range attack that features four Billikens who are shooting at least 40% from deep on 50-plus attempts. The others are forward Brady Dunlap (44.1%), guard Ishan Sharma (42.8%), center Robbie Avila (41.6%) and guard Dion Brown (40.4%). Saint Louis has made as many as 19 3-pointers in a game this season and has drained at least 10 deep balls 22 times across 34 contests.

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Michigan vs. Saint Louis prediction

Saint Louis, the Atlantic 10 regular-season champion, carved up and dissected Georgia’s defense in a blowout win. The Billikens will provide much more of a test than Howard did, and Michigan is going to need to be locked in defensively from the start.

The Wolverines have struggled to guard stretch fives (see both Wisconsin games) and Saint Louis just so happens to have a big man — the bespectacled Robbie Avila — who shoots 40% from deep. If Michigan can find a way to solve that defensive dilemma, it should be Sweet 16-bound in its seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance, though it might not come comfortably. Pick: Michigan, 84-78

➤MICHIGAN TICKETS: Buy Michigan basketball tickets for March Madness

NCAA Tournament

NO. 1 SEED MICHIGAN VS. NO. 9 SEED SAINT LOUIS

What: Second-round NCAA Tournament game

When: Saturday, 12:10 p.m.

Where: KeyBank Arena, Buffalo

TV: CBS

Records: Michigan 32-3, Saint Louis 29-5

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Michigan

Michigan woman feels ‘completely manipulated’ after deepfake nude images spread online

Published

1 day ago

March 19, 2026

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Michigan woman feels ‘completely manipulated’ after deepfake nude images spread online

A woman whose high school photos were digitally altered to appear nude and then shared online says she feels “completely manipulated” and let down by a justice system that has so far spared one of the men involved from jail time.

Madison Kinsella, 32, graduated from Plymouth-Canton Educational Park in 2011.

She said she first learned in 2023 that images of her as a minor had been hacked from her and altered to appear nude.

“I received a message from a fellow victim,” Kinsella said in an interview with the Investigators on Local 4. “She informed me that an agent that was involved in the case that they were building was also going to reach out, and later on that week, they actually came to my parents’ home in Michigan and spoke with them about what was going on.”

Kinsella said she was traveling when she got the call, trying to process what federal investigators were telling her.

“Your brain has never moved faster than when you’re hearing that information,” Kinsella said. “And then all of a sudden, you’re realizing that’s why I had my Apple ID password changing every day for two years, because these people were hacking into my phone and doing God knows what. And it’s just a violation of privacy, of trust, of thinking you know someone.”

The backstory

Federal prosecutors said three former P-CEP students, Daniel Bihn, an engineer; Michael Justus, who worked in digital technology and AI; and Bernard Rice, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, conspired for years to hack accounts and steal or manipulate intimate photos of women, often former classmates, then trade or post them online.

Investigators said the men used a Russian website and the anonymous messaging platform Discord to exchange nude images, some of which were obtained by hacking Snapchat accounts and accessing the password-protected “My Eyes Only” feature.

Court records show agents eventually tied online usernames, including “Triangle Guy,” alleged to be Bihn, to the former students and raided Bihn’s home in January 2021, seizing electronics.

Later that year, investigators searched Justus’ Illinois home and connected Rice to the chats.

The chats

In one 2019 Discord exchange described in federal filings, Justus and Rice discussed a “list” of women for Bihn to target:

“Very interested to see your list and see if there’s any blatant misses on my end.”

“Just got around to it lol.”

“She’s cute – nice add.”

“Good stuff.”

Kinsella said her images were not true nude photographs but rather high school pictures that had been digitally altered, something she considers a very small consolation.

“I consider myself somewhat lucky that it wasn’t a real private image, and I take some peace in knowing that it was fake,” Kinsella said. “However, I feel completely manipulated in this situation, completely … just used. It’s shattering, really, to know that this is what my face has been put on and to be made to look like… that some people believe that is me.”

“Humiliation is an understatement,” Kinsella added. “It’s just a very devastating, violating feeling.”

Kinsella said she is especially angered by what she sees as attempts to cast some of the men as socially awkward or starved for female attention.

“I find it very interesting that in the court documents that are public, we can read that there’s been a sort of spin on these men not getting female attention,” Kinsella said. “Mike Justus, who I know, I can say that wasn’t true. It’s a complete lie.”

Guilty pleas

All three men pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiracy to commit fraud and related computer activity.

Bihn has been sentenced to time served, along with probation and restitution.

Rice was also sentenced to probation and restitution. Justus is scheduled to be sentenced on March 26.

Kinsella said she is disappointed but not surprised by the sentences handed down so far.

“If we can’t rely on the court system to do what needs to be done, then unfortunately it’s on our communities to respond, and I hope that is what happens,” Kinsella said.

Another victim, in a statement read in court, described the lasting trauma:

“When I found out my private photos have been posted online, I began having daily panic attacks multiple times per day, could not leave my house, had to start weekly therapy; I’m still working through this trauma to this day.”

Kinsella said she, too, has been in therapy since learning about the manipulated images.

She said she is “terrified” that more manipulated images of her are out there.

“To the women that have had to go through this, either in this specific experience or something similar, I think it’s important to find your power and your voice,” Kinsella said. “Even if men are going to behave this way, you owe it to yourself to be your fullest and most alive self and not stifle or be scared of the world.”

Kinsella believes change will only come if women stand together and communities refuse to look the other way.

“My prayer is that one day this will change and no longer be a reality,” Kinsella said. “And that only happens when we all work together.”

Kinsella said she and several other women plan to attend Justus’ sentencing on March 26th to “look him in the eyes.”

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