Michigan Release Plans Criticized
State Rep. John Proos said Gov. Granholm is putting public safety at risk through a state corrections budget that releases prisoners to make up for budget shortfalls. Reported by the Herald-Palladium.
Proos wrote in a press release. “The governor has predicated her corrections budget on releasing nearly 3,886 prisoners. That is unacceptable, especially without first considering reforms and cost-saving measures.” The governor should look for opportunities for reform, Proos said. Instead, her budget for the Michigan Department of Corrections would release 147 prisoners a day until Oct. 1, he said …
John Cordell, public information officer for the corrections department, said the department carefully evaluates prisoners before releasing them. “Can we ensure that none of these 3,000 prisoners ever commit a crime again? No, we can’t,” Cordell said. “Nor can we assure the 12,000 prisoners we parole every year won’t commit a crime again.” But the department is doing all it can to screen prisoners and to have support and re-entry systems in place to help them “become better citizens, viable and productive citizens,” Cordell said. That includes increasing the number of parole officers, increasing “real-time GPS tethers so we can accurately track where offenders are” and increasing funding for re-entry services from $25 million to $50 million in the next fiscal year, he said.
Proos said the state could save: $30 million by stopping corrections employee pay raises; $60 million by reducing overtime offered; $5 million by consolidating administrative offices; $3.5 million by streamlining transportation of prisoners; and $30 million by reducing cost of food services. The June 2008 Auditor General’s report states: “The Department of Corrections should analyze the potential outcomes of hiring private contractors to provide prisoner meals at its correctional facilities … Based on these costs per prisoner per day, we estimate that Michigan could save from $10.2 million to $38 million annually” …
Cordell said the department has cut nearly $500 million from its budget since fiscal 2001-02. Releasing between 3,500 and 4,000 prisoners – all of whom are “past their minimum sentence date” – will save some $125 million in the next budget year, he added.
Early Release, Economic Issues, Food Services, Michigan, Probation and Parole