Tuesday, December 22, 2009
If state governments are interested in revising their prison systems, not just to save money but also to return convicts to society and keep them there, then Michigan should be a model to follow, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU argues that the American prison system has gotten far too large for the nation’s own good, housing 25% of all inmates in the world, and steps need to be taken to reduce the size of this incarcerated population.
In Michigan, state prison officials managed to lower the total number of inmates by 8% over a two-year period—without the legislature getting involved, and without jeopardizing public safety. What the Department of Corrections did was commit more resources to its parole system that allowed more convicts to re-enter society by using support mechanisms, such as substance abuse treatment and counseling, that reduce the risk of recidivism.
The ACLU warns other states that they cannot simply copy Michigan’s efforts without a commitment to discretionary parole, meaning parole that can be revoked if the parolee violates the conditions of community supervision and monitoring. “Our nation’s criminal justice policy requires fundamental change, and Michigan provides one example of how that change can work,” reads the report.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Michigan Breaks the Political Logjam (by Elizabeth Alexander, ACLU) (pdf)
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