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| Prison policy changes make Michigan a leader among states |
| By freep.com |
| Published: 11/04/2009 |
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Michigan Corrections Director Patricia Caruso has taken a lot of criticism, especially from prosecutors, about higher parole rates and other efforts to reduce Michigan's bloated prison system. But Caruso and her department have, rightly, earned praise from corrections officials around the country. The reason: Michigan's prison population has dropped by 5,000 in the last 2 1/2 years, while crime and prison recidivism rates have gone down, despite the worst economy since the Great Depression. Michigan is one of the few states closing prisons instead of building them. "People everywhere in the country look at Michigan as the leader," Caruso told the Free Press this week. Caruso credits some of the state's success to the Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative, which aims to help parolees find housing, jobs and other services. The number of parolees returning to prison has dropped from one in two to one in three. MPRI, she said, has allowed the state Parole Board to safely release more inmates. These are not early releases, as some prosecutors and critics have said, but paroles granted after inmates have served at least their minimum sentences. Read More. |
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