Ann Arbor — Advocates for Washtenaw County’s progressive criminal justice policies contend they’ve resulted in a fairer system, although critics warn they endanger the public by not holding violent offenders accountable.

The May 19 carjacking and shooting of a mother in front of her son in an Orion Township mall, allegedly by a man who was given probation two years ago for assaulting a woman in Washtenaw County, was decried by critics. One of them was Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who said the suspect should have been incarcerated for his earlier crime, and that the incident is part of a pattern of violent felons getting light treatment from Washtenaw County law enforcement officials, only to commit more crimes.