Published March 20, 2007

Prisons: State has to conserve prison space for worst offenders

As lawmakers wade deeper into Michigan's budget thicket, they will run smack dab into the Department of Corrections.

How could they not? DOC now uses almost $2 billion from the general fund and is the largest single employer in state government. DOC also has the distinction of an agency that has continued to grow even while other key state accounts were cut.

That has to change, for the simple fact that Michigan can't afford its present policy.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm seems to understand this. She has outlined new policies to parole more prisoners, to commute more sentences and to divert more non-violent offenders to jails instead of state prisons.

She also announced plans to close a prison in Jackson by July to save money.

That's a substantial change in policy for the governor. In her first term, Granholm seemed far more interested in new "tough on crime" laws than on any major reform of the Corrections Department. No doubt that's because prison reform is politically sensitive.

Release the wrong prisoner, such as Pat Selepak, and law-abiding citizens can be hurt or killed.

Even now, Granholm's rather limited prison reforms are encountering resistance from legislative Republicans. Some GOP'ers, such as state Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, prudently note that additional releases must come with safeguards. Others, such as Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, have favored unhelpful hyperbole.

What no one has creditably demonstrated, though, is a policy direction better than Granholm's.

Michigan has about 51,000 people in its prison system, a record. We imprison at a rate far in excess of neighboring states - and at an average cost of $33,000 per year per inmate, according to DOC Director Patricia Caruso.

Granholm wants to parole about 5,000 eligible prisoners. Yet, the advocacy group Citizens Alliance on Prison and Public Spending told Booth Newspapers that 16,000 would be eligible for parole if Michigan went back to its own parole practices of 10 years ago.

Michigan's prison space and dollars are limited. Therefore, it must reserve them for violent, dangerous people. And that means policies that divert other felons into jails or community monitoring.

Granholm finally sees this. It's time for legislative Republicans to join her in crafting bipartisan policies that emphasize public and fiscal security.

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