Comments on: One step forward, two steps lacking on prison reform http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/one-step-forward-two-steps-lacking-on-prison-reform/ Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:31:23 +0000 hourly 1 By: tom http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/one-step-forward-two-steps-lacking-on-prison-reform/comment-page-1/#comment-1433 tom Thu, 21 May 2009 10:54:04 +0000 http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/blog/?p=1244#comment-1433 It has long been known that Michigan was turned from an automotive state to a prison state by former governor John Engler. The truth about the prison system has been a worse coverup than "Watergate" the truth constantly being held from the public to bolster politicians and their enormous line of bull! It has long been known that Michigan was turned from an automotive state to a prison state by former governor John Engler. The truth about the prison system has been a worse coverup than “Watergate” the truth constantly being held from the public to bolster politicians and their enormous line of bull!

]]> By: Jeff Padden http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/one-step-forward-two-steps-lacking-on-prison-reform/comment-page-1/#comment-1432 Jeff Padden Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:05:53 +0000 http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/blog/?p=1244#comment-1432 John - It's important to keep focusing on Michigan's disproportionate prison population. Over the past 20 years, our legislators, prosecutors, and judges have decided - through their repsective actions - to spend $2 billion per year on prisons, rather than to have lower taxes, more funding for education, more cops on the streets, or any other priority. Corrections has been cannibalizing the State budget. It is also important to understand clearly the progress that has been made over the past five years. As the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative has succeeded in changing policy, practice, and culture in the Department of Corrections, the return-to-prison rate for parolees has declined more than 25%. It's still too early to prove that MPRI is responsible for this improvement, but progress in occurring in the direction predicted by national research. Almost all prisoners eventually go home, but MPRI has begun to prepare them better to succeed when they to. With supervision and services in the prisons and communities driven sharply by what has been proven to improve results, Michigan is starting to see real benefits in terms of a lower prison population without increasing risk to the public. These changes, along with a declining rate of prison commitments, has yielded a reduction of about 3,500 inmates compared to the peak of 51,000. This is a real reduction, not just down from projection, as stated in your article. The recommendations from the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments present a critical next step. The work of the Center was carried out on a collaborative, bipartisan basis, and now the leaders of the legislative and executive branches can make a great contribution to the people of Michigan by following the prescriptions laid out in those recommendations. As this process of reforming and refocusing Michigan's prison system toward improving the public protection returns on our tax dollars, we need very careful monitoring and evaluation to make sure the process continues to have the intended results. If so, it should merit strong support from all. If not, we should learn from what's been done and try to do better. What we can't do is return to the old way of doing business, which cost too much and failed to protect the public. -- Jeff Padden John -

It’s important to keep focusing on Michigan’s disproportionate prison population. Over the past 20 years, our legislators, prosecutors, and judges have decided – through their repsective actions – to spend $2 billion per year on prisons, rather than to have lower taxes, more funding for education, more cops on the streets, or any other priority. Corrections has been cannibalizing the State budget.

It is also important to understand clearly the progress that has been made over the past five years. As the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative has succeeded in changing policy, practice, and culture in the Department of Corrections, the return-to-prison rate for parolees has declined more than 25%. It’s still too early to prove that MPRI is responsible for this improvement, but progress in occurring in the direction predicted by national research.

Almost all prisoners eventually go home, but MPRI has begun to prepare them better to succeed when they to. With supervision and services in the prisons and communities driven sharply by what has been proven to improve results, Michigan is starting to see real benefits in terms of a lower prison population without increasing risk to the public.

These changes, along with a declining rate of prison commitments, has yielded a reduction of about 3,500 inmates compared to the peak of 51,000. This is a real reduction, not just down from projection, as stated in your article.

The recommendations from the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments present a critical next step. The work of the Center was carried out on a collaborative, bipartisan basis, and now the leaders of the legislative and executive branches can make a great contribution to the people of Michigan by following the prescriptions laid out in those recommendations.

As this process of reforming and refocusing Michigan’s prison system toward improving the public protection returns on our tax dollars, we need very careful monitoring and evaluation to make sure the process continues to have the intended results. If so, it should merit strong support from all. If not, we should learn from what’s been done and try to do better. What we can’t do is return to the old way of doing business, which cost too much and failed to protect the public.

– Jeff Padden

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