The Michigan Chamber supports comprehensive corrections reform based on the following principles: 

• Reduction of crime rates and recidivism;
• Appropriated dollars should be spent in the most effective and efficient manner possible and all cost-saving options must be considered;
• Annual costs must be brought into line with national and regional averages; and
• Policy and programmatic changes should be data-driven and based on results.

Background

Job providers in Michigan have a vested interest in making sure that Michigan’s costly correctional system is effective and efficiently run. As members of society, employers expect safe streets not only to protect their employees and property, but to ensure safe neighborhoods, schools and homes. A correctional system should provide citizens with the confidence that justice is being served, but also that their tax dollars are being used in the most effective way possible. Having individuals who are rehabilitated and employable after leaving incarceration is good for employers and society, in general. 

Michigan’s current Department of Corrections’ (MDOC) total budget accounts for over 20 percent of Michigan’s total General Fund/General Purpose budget. For historical comparison, the budget has grown significantly from $1.7 billion in 2000 to over $2 billion in 2007 and the number of prisoners has gone from almost 48,000 to 50,200 in that same period (see attached document). Michigan’s costs per prisoner is $31,000 per year, ranking it one of the highest in the nation and the highest among neighboring states Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.*

At the same time, according to the Justice Center, a national, non-partisan organization (operating under the umbrella of the Council of State Governments), Michigan’s violent crime rate is higher than the national average, and highest in the Midwest (see attached). Furthermore, while Michigan has a low prison admission rate, Michigan’s overall incarceration rate is high due to a higher-than-average length of stay for prisoners. In addition, while recidivism is somewhat difficult to quantify (due to lack of uniform definitions across the states), according to the MDOC, the rate of supervised offenders (felony probation and parole) going back to prison rate is nearly 60%. This data appears to suggest middle and “back end” problems related to re-entry, parole and probation.