Melot: At least governor is trying

Prosecutors voluble about paroles, quiet about dollars

Gov. Jennifer Granholm has significantly increased the rate of commutations in her second term. Some in Michigan may not like the idea, but it represents the sort of sea change Michigan needs in dealing with law enforcement and prisons.

Alternatively, the state's county prosecutors could do more than talk and start a petition drive for, say, a 2-point increase in the sales tax rate to finance the prisons Michigan would need to support a policy of ever-longer imprisonments.

Prosecutors are running around the state attacking an increased pace of prisoner releases with a litany of dire warnings. And, truth be told, a released prisoner is in a better position to victimize you than an imprisoned felon.

But go visit the prosecutors' Web site (www.michiganprosecutor.org) and click on their "Blueprint for a Safer Michigan." For eight pages, the prosecutors detail what additional investments Michigan needs to make. But where's the money? That's right, raising the money is someone else's problem - as is developing a realistic law enforcement strategy.

Despite prosecutors' rhetoric, almost every person in a Michigan prison will return to a community at some point. The question for taxpayers is when should felons return and under what circumstances.

It's taken some time, but the Granholm administration seems to have accepted the idea that Michigan will have fewer prisoners in the future. The governor has expanded the Parole Board to accelerate reviews. The Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative is showing success, the Department of Corrections says. And the number of paroled prisoners is way up.

Granholm's commutation figures are part of a larger whole.

And her recent trend has been toward dealing with cases beyond those involving medical conditions. A Jan. 17 LSJ story noted 32 recent commutations involved murder cases.

Every criminal case is unique - which remains a challenge for anyone dealing with matters of parole or commutation. But some general trends are known inside the corrections world, if not in larger public.

For example, did you know that recidivism rates for murder and sex offenses are lower than for other criminal offenses?

Did you know that having a prisoner serve, say, five years instead of four has no effect on whether he will commit new crimes upon release?

Did you know that most research in the field does not show imprisonment rates having a major effect on the crime rate?

Did you know that even in Michigan, with its $2 billion Corrections Department, most felony cases do not lead to imprisonment?

Did you know that states such as Minnesota spend and imprison much less, yet have lower crime rates than Michigan?

Did you know that the use of "good time" credits to motivate prisoner behavior by shortening sentences, barred at the state level, is routinely used by county sheriffs to control their jail populations?

The governor is showing some serious leadership on this thorny issue. It remains to be seen whether the Legislature and county prosecutors will get in the game.

What do you think? Write Derek Melot, Lansing State Journal, 120 E. Lenawee St., Lansing, MI 48919. For past columns, visit www.lsj.com/columnists.