The Alternative Service Program was initiated by the 52/1 District Court in 1986 under the direction of Judge Michael Batchik, in order to give the judges a sentencing alternative to a jail sentence. Alternative sentencing involves assigning misdemeanor offenders to community service work at a charge of $15 per five hour day. Judge Batchik described the program as a positive form of punishment. Rather than sitting around in jail, we get production from that person. Shoplifters, drunken drivers and probation violators are among the two hundred and fifty people per year who trade five hours in the program for each day they would have served in jail. Workers, whose sentences range from 25 to 150 hours, must be non-violent offenders with no histories of mental illness.

The Community Service Garden is also included in the Alternative Service Program. Early each spring, the garden, located in Commerce Township, is planted under the supervision of Alternative Service Officer Bill Chatfield. Throughout the garden season, work crews are required to cultivate the garden and then harvest the produce. The fruits and vegetables are distributed to local charities. Low income families, seniors and shut-ins in Oakland County receive approximately 700 bushels of fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, beets, eggplants and mustard greens. Besides freeing up jail space for serious offenders, the probationers maintain regular jobs while raising hundreds of bushels of produce for the needy and senior citizens. The Community Service Garden runs from May until the pumpkin harvest that ends the season on Halloween.

Throughout the entire year, work crews are also sent to participating municipalities and schools to do maintenance such as landscaping projects, painting buildings and janitorial services. The participating municipalities are those that fall under the jurisdiction of the district court. This portion of the program is supervised by Alternative Service Officer Bill Brown. Many construction projects for schools and playgrounds have been completed utilizing the skills of the defendants.

The judges of the 52/1 District Court refer defendants to the Alternative Service Program because it is a program that allows all participants to be winners. It is a sentencing tool that allows defendants to remain in the community, live with their families and keep their jobs while completing their obligation to the Court. The taxpayer benefits in the number of jail days not utilized. Currently, the estimated cost of one jail day is $70. The Court has found that those offenders who were sentenced to community service feel a sense of pride in what they have accomplished. In response to this, a number of defendants continued to work once their sentence was completed. Based on the success of this program, the positive feedback from defendants and the savings it offers to the taxpayer, the 52/1 District Court will continue its effort to develop and implement alternative programs.