Report: Adjusting Prison Sentencing Guidelines Could Save State Billions Over Years

LANSING (WWJ) - A group's report recommends cutting the prison population in Michigan by 10,000 people -- and saving the state $250 million a year on corrections.

Barbara Levine with Citizens Alliances on Prisons and Public Spending, says recommendations include adjusting sentencing guidelines, as well as increasing the rate of paroles for those who have served their minimum sentence.

And Levine says there's no impact on public safety.

"Nothing in any of the proposals would prevent a judge from imposing a long prison term for a serious crime - nothing would require the parole board to release an individual who is currently dangerous," said Levine. "What these proposals recognize is that keeping people long past the time they present a risk is a waste of lives and a waste of money."

Levine states that an increase in community corrections and adjusting sentencing guidelines to keep more people in community-based supervision will reduce costs.

She says prison populations are not driven by crime rates - which have been steadily falling for decades.

"When we send more people to prison than we release - the population grows - decades of longer sentences, lower parole rates and the elimination of any sort of credits for good conduct or program participation puts Michigan out of sync with the rest of the country."

Currently, the state houses about 44,000 people in state prison and spends $2 billion on corrections. The report is in the hands of lawmakers.