Editorial: Proposed prison cuts will cost in long run

May 23, 201

Whatever budget for the Michigan Department of Corrections emerges from conference committee this week, it will contain deep cuts in prison spending. The governor's office and leaders in the House and Senate have agreed to a general fund spending target of $1.875 billion -- $55 million less than Gov. Rick Snyder originally recommended.

With 44,000 prisoners in 34 prisons, Michigan is one of only four states that spend more on prisons than higher education, and it surely should aim to spend less.

But the Corrections budgets emerging from the House and Senate would cut programs that reduce crime, recidivism and prison populations. With each inmate costing an average of $35,000 a year to incarcerate, controlling the population is the key to controlling spending.

The Senate budget is especially egregious, calling for cuts in prison education programs of 26%, or roughly $10 million. With more than half of the state's inmates entering prison without a high school diploma or GED and reading at an average fifth-grade level, cutting education will inevitably increase crime and recidivism.

More than 1,000 prisoners who are past their earliest release date have been unable to complete assaultive or sex offender programs required for parole, reports the Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending (CAPPS). The House budget wisely added $1.6 million to staff these programs. As a result, it reasonably estimated an added 220 paroles and $5.5 million in savings. By contrast, the Senate simply assumed, without adding funding, a $15-million saving from the release of inmates who have not finished these programs. Given past Parole Board practices, that assumption is irresponsible.

To its credit, the House also added $2.9 million for 32 corrections program coordinators to ensure that prisoners nearing parole get necessary training and programs. Such programs enable prisoners to meet parole requirements and prepare for a successful return to their communities.

Beyond that, Lansing must focus on policies that will enable the state to reduce its prison population and to close more prisons, including restoring good-time credits, approving new sentencing guidelines, and releasing chronically ill and dying inmates. As it endeavors to re-invent itself, Michigan cannot afford the failed corrections policies of the past.