Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010 - (Page 23)

June 7, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page M23 2010 Mackinac Policy Conference A time for action From Page M22 judges don’t send them to prison,” she said. Worthy also said Michigan needs to bring its corrections costs in line with the Midwest average. Reports have noted that Michigan has an incarceration rate that is higher than those of neighboring states, in part because people stay in prison longer in Michigan than national or regional averages. In its 2009 report, CSG said the average Michigan prisoner serves 127 percent of the minimum court-imposed sentence before being paroled. The nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan, in a June 2008 report, said Michigan has had an average length of stay at least one year longer than the national and Great Lakes states’ averages each year from 1990 to 2005. The council also said Michigan’s incarceration rate, annual cost per prisoner, and Corrections Department salaries — that as of the report averaged $9,000 more than other Great Lakes states — have “caused Michigan to spend a larger percentage of its total expenditures on corrections than the national average.” Citizens Research President Jeff Guilfoyle, in a pre-conference interview with Crain’s, said that given Michigan’s budget situation, “budget areas are going to need to be reviewed, and … corrections is somewhere where policymakers are going to need to look.” One bill that has gotten discussion is Senate Bill 827, which encapsulates a recommendation that came out of the work that CSG did with a bipartisan group of Michigan House and Senate lawmakers and department directors. The council’s review of the state’s prison and parole population, re-incarceration and re-arrest rates and other crime data was designed to help the state determine how it might reduce corrections spending while reinvesting in measures to make communities safer and stronger. Senate Bill 827, sponsored by Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, would require that people sentenced to prison in the future serve between 100 percent and 120 percent of their court-imposed minimum sentence, although those with high risks of re-offending could be held longer. Richard Jerome, project manager of the public safety performance project at the Pew Center on the States in Washington, said CSG estimates the bill would reduce spending by $35 million over four years. The bill has provisions that would “strengthen truth in sentencing and provide some certain- ty to the state and victims as to what time an offender will serve in prison,” and increase public safety “by ensuring that no offender will leave prison without supervision” of parole, he said. Speaking with Crain’s in a preMackinac interview, he said the approach is an example of a way to “hold offenders accountable, control costs, but still make sure safety is protected.” The Pew Center helped fund the CSG’s Michigan work and worked with it on the project. Michigan Department of Corrections Director Patricia Caruso said she would like to see CSG recommendations move forward. But even as changes are debated, the state has seen gains in curtailing prison population growth. One key effort is the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative, which positions individuals so they are better candidates for parole, from the day that they enter the prison system. Caruso said the state now has the highest number of people on parole in the department’s history, but returns to prison, either for new crimes or technical violations, are the lowest they’ve been in the 23 years they’ve been tracked by the department. Initiatives like the MPRI, de- clines in admissions and higher parole rates are among factors that have helped decrease the prison population to 44,700 as of late May, from a 2007 peak of 51,554. Caruso, in a pre-conference interview, said the department is “often accused of budget-driven corrections,” but that’s not the case. “This is never about just saving money,” she said. “Saving money is an outgrowth of doing this right.” Amy Lane: (517) 371-5355, alane@crain.com Big Beaver Area Office Suites For Lease WELL BELOW BIG BEAVER OFFICE RENTAL RATES!!! KIRTS OFFICE PARK - EAST 800-830 Kirts, Troy, MI KIRTS OFFICE PARK - WEST 1172-1282 Kirts, Troy, MI Suites From 2,229 to 15,523 SF • 8 Single Story Buildings • Building Signage Available • Easy Access to I-75/Big Beaver Corridor • Conveniently Located in the Heart of Troy • Ample and Convenient Parking Suites From 1,199 to 30,000 SF For More Information, Please Call: 248.324.2000 w w w. f r i e d m a n r e a l e s t a t e . c o m http://www.friedmanrealestate.com http://www.friedmanrealestate.com http://www.ambassadorbridge.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010

Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010
In this Issue
Economic Makeover
Lesson Plan for Education Reform
Teaming Up for Action
Time for a Cultural Revolution
Defense Mechanism
Slowing the State's Brain Drain
Intern, Employers of the Year

Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010