The Auto Theft Unit of the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office consists of an assistant prosecutor whose sole responsibility is the prosecution of serious auto theft and auto theft related cases, such as insurance fraud, auto theft rings, and other related classes of crimes. This unit prosecutes serious offenders from warrant authorization through sentencing. The Auto Theft Prosecutor acts as legal advisor to the Macomb Auto Theft Squad (M.A.T.S.), Michigan State Police Auto Theft Task Forces, and local departments on matters such as search warrants, the development of evidence against organized crime rings, and potential seizures under civil forfeiture laws, such as the Chop Shop Act.

Carjacking is a problem, not only in Macomb County, but across the nation. In many instances, subjects involved in carjacking are part of organized criminal rings. The Auto Theft Unit deals with carjacking aggressively.

The Auto Theft unit is funded with a grant from the Automobile Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA) with support from the Macomb County Board of Commissioners. Since the inception of this unit and the ATPA funded auto theft task forces in 1987, auto thefts have declined by over 50% in Macomb County, while such thefts nationwide have increased dramatically.