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| Tasers in Michigan prisons praised |
| By lansingstatejournal.com - Paul Egan Detroit Free Press |
| Published: 02/23/2012 |
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LANSING — Michigan corrections officers say a recent experiment carrying Tasers is a success, but a planned cost-cutting measure -- eliminating round-the-clock patrols of prison perimeters -- is a threat to prison security. Department of Corrections Director Dan Heyns and Michigan Corrections Organization officials are in rare agreement about the use of Tasers, which began in late December as a pilot project in five of the state's 31 prisons. But Heyns and the union are at odds over his plan to save about $15 million by scaling back vehicle patrols around the prisons' exteriors. Heyns described the use of Tasers as "a game changer" in testimony Tuesday to state lawmakers. "We're seeing a dramatic drop in the number of assaults," Heyns said. Prisoners "are going to think twice before they take on a staff member." Mel Grieshaber, executive director of the Michigan Corrections Organization, which pushed to allow officers to carry the electric stun guns, agreed the devices are having a positive impact. Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the corrections department, said comparative assault statistics are not yet available, but anecdotal evidence from wardens suggest just the threat of Taser use can restore order. Since December, officers have drawn Tasers 59 times and fired them 39 times at Carson City Correctional Facility, Ionia Correctional Facility, Alger Correctional Facility, the Michigan Reformatory and St. Louis Correctional Facility, he said. Read More. |
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