Restore 'good time' in state prisons

A package of bills stuck in the House could radically change how Michigan handles its prisoners. In the process, the state could save huge sums.

The prospect of moving 8,000 prisoners into communities in six months should - and probably does - give most people pause. And there are interested parties (read prosecutors) who stand ready to predict dire results should a so-called "good time" system be re-instituted.

But, as the LSJ detailed in these pages in September, Michigan needs radical changes in its corrections policy. The state can't afford the status quo. or even minor tinkering. The good time and community placement programs outlined in House Bills 4497-99 would lead to 7,550 releases, the Corrections Department said. Such a reduction would move the state's prison population down to a level not seen since the mid-1990s. It also would save tens of millions of dollars, since it can cost $25,000 to $30,000 a year to house a single prisoner.

Prosecutors have criticized this idea, as they have other efforts to reduce the prison population. They rely on a consistent and effective tactic: A released felon presents far more of a danger to law-abiding citizens than an imprisoned one. True, the risks rise.

Prosecutors and other critics are right on another thing: Michigan doesn't even imprison the vast majority of felons who come through the state's courts. Material provided by Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, put the figures at one new imprisonment for every 10 reported violent crimes.

That would seem a persuasive argument for locking away more people, not fewer.

Michigan, though, has long chosen not to finance such a prison system. Even so, it is spending nearly $2 billion out of its general fund to operate the Corrections Department.

And estimates for Fiscal Year 2011 say Michigan - without tax changes - will have somewhere around $7 billion for the general fund. Without huge changes, corrections could end up taking a quarter of the general fund by itself. That means less to help colleges produce graduates, less to cover health bills, less for practically everything else the state does.

That's the financial argument. On the matter of public safety policy, the Legislature's own Corrections Department has told it, "Studies show there is little direct relationship between crime and incarceration and the cost benefit of imprisonment is not the best way to reduce crime."

A good time program also adds a powerful incentive for proper behavior behind bars.

Michigan had a good time program before. It needs one again.

An LSJ editorial