Friday, May 2, 2008

Prison costs on agenda

Experts to discuss reforms to help state handle Corrections spending.

Gary Heinlein and Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau

LANSING -- Policymakers say continued growth of Michigan's sprawling, $2-billion-a-year prison system is unsustainable when the state is struggling to pay for such priorities as education, health care and police.

Some of the top thinkers regarding Corrections strategies are convening in the capital today to discuss reforms that could help the state get a handle on prison spending without compromising public safety.

Speakers at the sessions -- expected to draw about 100 people -- will include the state's deputy Corrections director, leaders of the two sections of the State Bar of Michigan, a sheriff, a prosecutor and the head of the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency.

"The goal of the conference is to try to give people outside the criminal justice system a sense of what the issues are," said Barbara Levine, executive director of one of the sponsoring organizations, Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending, which advocates alternatives to prison, such as community placement and tether programs.

"Everyone is pretty much in agreement there's not going to be a lot of new revenue for the state. The idea is developing that it might be possible to save some money on Corrections," Levine said. "You have to do that; it's one of the biggest (departmental) budgets."

The conference comes on the heels of a Detroit News series that outlined the dramatic growth of the prison system and its impact on other government services.

The two-part series, which ran April 14-15 found:

• The 50,200 inmates in Michigan prisons represent a four-fold increase in the number of prisoners over a quarter-century.

• It costs an average of $200 a year for each Michigan resident to support the prisons.

• The cost to house each inmate drains $31,325 annually from the state treasury.

• Michigan is one of four states that spend more on corrections than on higher education.

• One of every three state employees works in the Corrections Department, up from one in 10, 25 years ago.

• While prison costs soar, revenue sharing to local units of government has been slashed by $3 billion over the last six state budget years, resulting in 1,800 fewer police officers and 2,500 fewer firefighters.

• Without corrective action, the prison population will swell by another 12 percent and top 56,000 within five years.

"Our efforts to grow Michigan's economy and keep our state competitive are threatened by the rising costs in the Department of Corrections," Gov. Jennifer Granholm told The Detroit News for its series.

State leaders this year are planning modest cost-cutting measures this year while participating in an in-depth study of Michigan's corrections policies by the Council of State Governments. The study, which aims to come up with reforms that could produce dramatic savings, is expected to take two years or more. But those conducting the inquiry plan to issue their first report early next year.

At the conference, the respected Citizens Research Council of Michigan will present its findings on the explosive increase in the number of state inmates and the cost they carry. Last year, the council said that if Michigan's incarceration rate paralleled those of its Great Lakes neighbors, the state would save $500 million a year.

Sponsors of the conference, in addition to Levine's organization, are the Prisons and Corrections and Criminal Law sections of the State Bar of Michigan, the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency, and the Michigan Corrections Association.

While the organizations won't compile an official report, all of the materials presented at the conference will be available on the Web site www.balancingourpriorities.org.

You can reach Gary Heinlein at (517)371-3660 or gheinlein@detnews.com.