Jobs for Released Prisoners a Priority in the New Michigan Economy
About 500 Non-Violent Offenders Slated for Release in Tri-County Area
June 6, 2009
By: Dave Rogers
Standish Maximum Security Correctional Facility slated for closure.
About 500 non-violent offenders are reported to be slated for release in the tri-county Bay, Midland, Saginaw area as the state closes three prisons and five camps.
The estimated totals are 400 to Saginaw, 70 to Bay and 30 to Midland.
The prisoners being released are not considered a threat to society and some have been incarcerated for parole reporting violations and other technical offenses, according to local sources.
The state has been working for several years on plans to reduce the inmate population and the $2 billion annual cost of corrections.
The Michigan inmate population rose from 13,272 in 1982 and accelerated during the tenure of Gov. John Engler (1991-2003) to reach 40,182 in 1996 and around 50,000 at its peak in recent years.
The recently announced closings are part of a long term plan. For the past four years prison officials and state agencies on the local level have been coordinating planning for the current release program. Prisoners have received special training and coaching and families have been contacted and made a part of the process.
The closings are estimated to save about $120 million a year.
Reports are that each inmate costs the state taxpayers from $29,000 to $33,000 a year for incarceration.
"Obviously, it makes sense to release those inmates who can safely integrate into society," said a local law enforcement official. "We simply cannot afford to continue incarceration for minor offenses as has been the case for decades. And, in retrospect the fact that building and staffing prisons was considered economic development by some communities was a mistaken idea."
Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently announced the closing of eight prison facilities including the maximum security facility at Standish and a prison camp at Grayling.
According to state sources, about 90 percent of the inmates released will find homes with relatives or friends.
"The local community can ease the situation by helping these ex-offenders find homes and employment," said one local social service official. "We all need to work together to keep our community safe and jobs will be a key element in this environment."
Observers close to the prisoner release planning program said the current slow economy will make it much more difficult to find jobs for released inmates. But reports are that efforts are underway to place those with skills in appropriate jobs and find manual labor projects for those with lower skills.
"In recent years society has adopted a much sterner attitude toward crime and criminals -- both adult and juvenile -- with significant effect on state policy and budgeting," stated a Public Sector Consultants report.
The prison closings actually started in February 2007 with the shuttering of one prison and part of another in Jackson. Some 500 prison employees were transferred or laid off, and the prison capacity was reduced by 1,800 beds.
Michigan's incarceration rate is reportedly 40 percent higher than other Midwest states. Governor Granholm's plans announced in 2007 were to release about 5,500 non-violent convicts, including car thieves and drug offenders.
In 2008 a 1,200-bed prison in Ionia and a 700-bed prison camp in Coldwater were closed, saving $26 million. The girls' training facility in Adrian subsequently also was closed.
The Michigan prison population, which once topped 51,000, fell to about 49,000. Prisoners were moved to empty beds elsewhere.
The now closed Southern Michigan Correctional Facility at Jackson once housed about 1,500 prisoners. At that time the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center, named after a Bay City native who rose to chief of the Michigan Corrections Department, was closed.