Michigan Considering Revamping Parole Policies

The state of Michigan is wasting a substantial amount of money keeping people in prison; funds that could be partially used to improve education and road conditions. According to a recent report in The Detroit Free Press, the Michigan Department of Corrections spends around 20 percent of its general budget incarcerating prisoners – roughly $2 billion annually.

Unfortunately, while spending such a large chunk of change to clean up the streets would be worth it, the presence of common hooligans and thugs remains a threat to public safety.

There are fewer felony prisoners serving time in Michigan than in any other state due to the implementation of diversion programs. Nearly 70 percent of the Michigan prison population is serving time for crimes of assault, with inmates serving longer sentences than prisoners in any other state across America – at a rate of about 17 months longer.

The problem is judges continue to sentence offenders to longer terms while the parole board is in no hurry to put inmates back into society. However, a recent report finds that incarcerating prisoners longer does not contribute to an increase in public safety. A test made in 2009, in which a few thousand Michigan prisoners previously denied parole were released – some of which were murderers and sex offenders - proved this to be true.

“Michigan Department of Corrections data, however, show that re-offense rates declined, from 17.9% for 2008 parolees to 15.6% for those paroled in 2009. Additionally, of nearly 5,000 people serving for homicide or sex offenses who were paroled from 2007 through March 2010, less than 1% returned to prison within three years of their release with a new sentence for a similar offense,” according to DFP.

In response to this study, the state legislature will look at a bill during the next session aimed at forcing the parole board to give inmates an opportunity on the outside the first time they are eligible for release – a move that could save the state $80 million per year.

“No parole board can predict the future with total accuracy. It is impossible to reduce risk to zero in making parole decisions. Serious new crimes by parolees, however, are the exception. Good public policy must be based on the majority of cases, not the aberrations. Keeping thousands of low-risk prisoners locked up for additional years because we cannot identify who might re-offend is fiscally, as well as morally, irresponsible.”