From the beginning of our quest to repeal Truth-in-Sentencing, we have been repeatedly told that our greatest obstacle would be to convince the multiple law enforcement agencies and prosecutors across the state of Michigan that our plan made sense.
In our attempt to learn more about why those particular groups would oppose our initiative, we have discovered a report issued by the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM) in July, 2018. That report, titled “MICHIGAN PRISONERS, VIOLENT CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY: A PROSECUTOR’S REPORT,” https://www.michiganprosecutor.org/files/PAAM/External/Michigan-Prisoners-Violent-Crime-and-Public-Safety-8-24-16.pdf. provides us with multiple pieces of key data that we feel are important to remember when considering the idea of prison reform. For instance, in 2016:
* Although Michigan allocated more than $2 billion for Corrections, which was approximately 20% of the state’s general fund budget, the state still had the second highest crime rate of the 12 Midwest states.
* Michigan’s violent crime rate was 19.2% higher than the average of the Midwest states, 41.8% higher than the state of Ohio, and 14.4% higher than the national average.
* Although Detroit’s violent crime rate decreased by 3.66% compared to 2012, the city was still ranked as the most dangerous city in the United States.
* Of the $2 billion set aside for Corrections, only 4% was dedicated to Prisoner Reentry programs.
* In 2017 the annual cost to incarcerate an inmate was calculated at $36,105.80, with an expected yearly increase of approximately $2,000.
* In the five years preceding the report, while the violent crime rate in the United States declined 0.38%, Michigan’s violent crime rate increased .98% over the same time period.
* 73% of those incarcerated in Michigan’s prison are there due to violent offenses.
Michigan Justice Advocacy believes that this data clearly validates two distinct arguments made in our attempt to restore a Good-Time program in Michigan prisons. First and foremost, although Michigan spends approximately $2 billion per year on corrections, this EXORBITANT amount of money has done nothing to lower the crime rate across our state. Second, due to the percentage of people currently incarcerated for so-called “violent” crimes, any type of meaningful prison reform must include something for violent offenses as well.
Join us here next week where we will be reviewing a recent article written by three professors at the University of Michigan Law School. That article, titled “UNDERSTANDING VIOLENT-CRIME RECIDIVISM,” explores a previous article printed in the Notre Dame Law Review.
