Macomb County Sheriff’s marine division station tour

Keeping Lake St. Clair safe is the goal of a special marine division operated by the Macomb County Sheriff's Department.

Posted on
Photography by
Andy Crawford
Captions by
Craig Lamb
Inside this unassuming building at the Harley Ensign Memorial DNR Boat Launch is a public safety operation worth seeing.
Welcome to the Marine Division of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office. The station hosted the official registration and meeting for the 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN.
The station went into service in May 2024 and was rebuilt at the existing location to protect the building from the higher water levels experienced in recent years throughout the Great Lakes. The new building is 15,000 square feet and includes indoor boat slips for patrol boats. It is fully staffed by deputies and includes a dedicated dive team.
This map outlines the 80-square mile jurisdiction of the Macomb County Marine Division, although interoperability with surrounding counties and the U.S. Coast Guard Detroit enable the agencies to cover a wider area. At only 430 square miles with an average depth of 11 feet, Lake St. Clair is smaller and shallower than the Great Lakes. However, due to those factors the lake is immensely popular for recreational boating and of course, fishing.
More than 150,000 boats are registered on the U.S. side of Lake St. Clair and thus, why the communication and dispatch desk can get busy during the season.
The station is staffed 24 hours, features locker rooms for men and women, and a kitchen.
Offices for a lieutenant, sergeant and two deputies are on-site. During summertime the staff increases by an additional four deputies from the road patrol division.
Inside the lieutenant’s office are artifacts collected during dive training missions, among them Prohibition-era bottles.
Enforcing Michigan boating laws, and responding to boating accidents, drownings, search-and-rescue operations, breakdowns and overdue boaters are among the responses dispatched and handled by the marine division.
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The staff break room and kitchen. Behind the window is the boat bay.
On-site are 15 patrol vessels, including four personal water craft, a 28-foot Boston Whaler powered by a 300-hp Yamaha outboard and a relic from the past that is still in service.
This Cherokee is part of a former fleet of four similar models. Ironically, General Motors once provided the engines for realtime performance testing.
This boat remains in service and is ready for patrol.
This indoor, radiant heated room is the dockage for there North River customized patrol boats, measuring 28 feet and powered by 300 hp Yamaha outboards.
The boats are equipped with fire suppression capabilities among other features.
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The boats are normally winterized and stored on land during the offseason. However, the new facility features a radiant heat system that prevents water inside the bays from freezing, and thus enabling the boats to remain in service during winter.
This 32-foot Munson Dive Boat for dive/rescue operations is staffed by the marine division’s 12-member dive team. Each member is a commissioned deputy also holding a PADI Master Scuba Diver rating.
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The building is also rated as a storm shelter for nearby residents.
Another view of the storm safe area. Also available to the public are classes for the Michigan boating education course.
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