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Issues in Criminal Justice (JF)
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By Kathryn Wiley|Published Date: March 01, 2010
Amid the annual rounds of budget-cutting in Michigan government over the last decade, one agency has been spared the ax: the Department of Corrections, according to an editorial in the Holland Sentinel.
The editorial describes how Michigan’s corrections budget has steadily grown and is now nearly $2 billion, which means that it accounts for a quarter of the state’s general fund budget.
With Michigan facing yet another huge budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year—$1.7 billion—that trend is unsustainable. Yet mustering the political consensus to rein in prison spending will be difficult.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm has called for reducing corrections spending by $130 million by allowing some inmates to shorten their sentences through good behavior and allowing others to be put on electronic monitoring outside prison. Together, the changes could reduce the state’s current prisoner population of 45,200 by roughly 7,500 by the end of next year.
The editorial states that a carefully constructed program that would move prisoners not deemed to be a significant threat to public safety to intensive probation and job training programs is worthwhile and also urges lawmakers to consider alternative approaches to sentencing and incarcerating criminals.
To read the article, click here.
For more information on smart-on-crime reforms, visit Justice Fellowship’s resource pages on Probation and Parole and Sentencing Reform. Justice Fellowship also offers helpful resources on the state level.
Visit “Get Involved” and the Michigan’s Criminal Justice Crisis for the latest in that state’s reform efforts and related articles and action kit. |
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