Michigan Department of Corrections

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Michigan Department of Corrections

• Updated Prison Bed Space Projections
• Impact from Probation, Community Corrections,
  Parole and the MPRI
• Presentation to the Senate Appropriations
  Subcommittee on Corrections
• May 12, 2009

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Projection Model Methodology

• Projections issued in 2005 were 99.6 accurate
• Only 205 prisoners higher than actual
• Projections issued in 2006 were 96.9 accurate
• 1,540 prisoners lower than actual due to the
  criminal justice system response to highly
  publicized crimes in February 2006
• Projections issued in 2007 were 95.0 accurate
• 2,625 prisoners higher than actual due to
  record paroles, 33 fewer parole failures, and
  reduced prison admissions
• Projections issued in 2008 were 94.7 accurate
• 2,708 prisoners higher than actual Past-ERD
  Reduction Strategy produced 3rd highest number of
  paroles, fewer parole failures, and less than
  expected prison admissions

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Actual Population versus Net Operating Capacity
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Evidenced Based Practices Reducing Crime by
Focusing on What Works

• Studies show there is little direct relationship
  between crime and incarceration and that the cost
  benefit of imprisonment is not the best way to
  reduce crime.
• Return to prison rates for former prisoners who
  serve one, two, three, four or five years in
  prison are nearly the same.
• The rising cost of the corrections budget is not
  driven by increases in crime, it is driven by the
  sheer size of the prison system.
• Dollar for dollar, investments in effective
  police practices reduce crime more than
  imprisonment.
• Employment is a critical dimension of successful
  offender rehabilitation and is associated with
  lower rates of re-offending higher wages are
  associated with lower rates of criminal activity.
• Educational and training programs that address
  fundamental abilities and teach skills directly
  applicable to the job market contribute to
  successful reintegration of offenders into
  society and reduce recidivism.

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Evidence Based PracticesMichigan Prisoner
ReEntry Initiative

• Implemented statewide in FY 2008 with expansion
  to up-to-scale possible in FY2009
• Focus on MPRI has provided improved resources to
  Parole Board including better training and more
  sophisticated assessment instruments
• Annual parole revocations are down by 42 since
  record high year of 2002, despite a 40 increase
  in size of parole population
• Successful MPRI process mitigates and controls
  risk - raises Parole Board confidence in parole
  plans and outcomes, enabling higher parole
  approval rates across the board
• Improved parole guidelines are being developed as
  a way to sustain and expand the impact of these
  improvements

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Projection AssumptionsSuccessful Approaches to
Controlling Prison Growth

• Front End Impacts on Prison Growth
• Comprehensive Planning through the Community
  Corrections Act continues to keep prison
  admission rate lower than other states
• Graduated sanctions and services for probationers
  respond to probationer risk and need less than
  7 fail and go to prison
• Residential substance abuse treatment programs
  are effective
• Efforts to Affect Length of Stay, Releases and
  Returns
• MPRI statewide expansion includes every county in
  the state
• Improved Parole Board risk and need assessment
  strategies
• Focus on special populations Mentally Ill,
  Youthful Offenders, SAI, Female Offenders
• Continue Aggressive Review of Past ERD Prisoner
  Population
• Cross System Efforts Driven by MPRI Focus
• More sophisticated risk and need assessment
  approaches
• Offender based accountability plans
• Collaborative Case Management approaches
• Focus on employment as primary offender need

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Recent TrendsThrough April 30, 2009

• Current actual population is within 926 of the
  projection through April (98.0 accurate).
• Male population is 961 higher than the forecast,
  while female population is 35 lower than the
  forecast.
• In terms of bed space, actual net operating
  capacity at the end of April was slightly higher
  than forecast due primarily to the opening of the
  Maxey Facility and the beds added at Macomb
  Correctional Facility for male mental health
  treatment.
• All trends in the key corrections data indicators
  continue to point to an accelerating prison
  population reduction over the coming months.
• The Council of State Governments Justice
  Reinvestment Work Group Recommendations,
  originally expected to take effect by April 1,
  2009, have not yet been taken up by the
  Legislature.
• The expansion of the Parole Board from 10 to 15
  members has been accomplished and increased
  numbers of reviews will result in additional
  paroles.

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Front End Impact Felony court dispositions have
declined in 2008 after 8 consecutive years of
growth
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Front End Impact Prison intake decreased due to
reduced dispositions, and improved community
corrections and probation practices lowest
since 2001
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Impact on Length of Stay Parole approval rate
reached highest level since 1993 due to MPRI and
Parole Board efforts to improve risk need
assessment
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Impact on Releases The number of moves to parole
in 2008 was the 3rd highest in history due to
MPRI and improvements by the Parole Board
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Impact on Releases Max outs have steadily
declined due to the MPRI after a decade of annual
increases
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Impact on Returns Parole violator new sentence
admissions to prison have been stable for 3 years
- despite about 3,000 more offenders on parole-
due to MPRI and improved parole supervision
approaches
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Impact on Returns Parole violator technical
returns to prison decreased to the lowest number
since 1992 - despite a record high parole
population due to MPRI and improved parole
supervision approaches
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The Council of State Governments /Justice
Reinvestment Work GroupData-Informed, Policy
Driven Recommendations

• Recommendations that Affect Prison Admissions
• Probationers with high risk and need factors have
  high rearrest rates and need intensive
  supervision, health services, education and other
  supports.
• The Justice Reinvestment Work Group recommends
• Amend the Community Corrections Act (CCA) to
  eliminate the restriction to only allow targeting
  of non-assaultive offenders and to require the
  use of validated risk and need assessment
• Target High Risk probationers under the CCA and
  measure impact of evidence based practices on
  reducing rearrest.
• Expand graduated sanctions and services for
  probationers including the use of short jail
  stays as sanctions and, in the service area,
  improved approaches for employment
• Demonstrate the quality of the programs funded
  under the CCA

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The Council of State Governments /Justice
Reinvestment Work GroupData-Informed, Policy
Driven Recommendations

• Recommendations that Affect Length of Stay
• 2007 prison releases to parole served an average
  127 of their court-imposed minimum sentence.
• The Justice Reinvestment Work Group recommends
• Legislation to require that the Parole Board
  release prisoners after serving between 100-120
  of their court-imposed minimum sentence with
  limited exceptions
• Legislation to require that the Parole Board
  revoke parole for no more than 9 months for first
  time revocations related to condition violations
• Legislation to require that the Parole Board,
  with only few exceptions, provide at least 9
  months of parole supervision for prisoners who
  otherwise would have served their entire maximum
  sentence (no max outs, with few exceptions)

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New Prison Population Projections

• Expand Front End Impacts on Prison Growth under
  the Community Corrections Act
• Amend the Community Corrections Act (CCA) and
  increase diversions
• Implement demonstrations of impact when targeting
  higher risk probationers and measure impact of
  evidence based practices
• Use COMPAS for risk and need assessments of
  probationers and improve case planning and case
  management efforts
• Expand graduated sanctions and services for
  probationers including short stays in jail when
  possible
• Improve the use of the County Jail Reimbursement
  Program for diversions
• Reduce Length of Stay, Increase Releases and
  Reduce Returns to Prison under the MPRI
• Take MPRI up-to-scale in FY 2009 NO EARLY
  RELEASES
• Expand efforts to work with mentally ill
  prisoners
• Expand Review of Past ERD Prisoner Population by
  adding 5 new parole board members and increase
  number of paroles
• Implement CSG work group recommendations for
  parole reforms immediately and decrease length of
  stay of prisoners

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New Bed Space ProjectionsPast ERD Prisoner
Reduction Strategy

• Experience over the past five years with MPRI and
  the capability to focus on special populations
  statewide allow for greater attention to
  prisoners who have served time beyond their
  Earliest Release Date (ERD)
• Number of prisoners past their ERD was over
  17,000 in 2003
• From 2003 to 2008, number was slowly reduced to
  15,000
• Beginning in June 2008 with statewide presence of
  MPRI and improved parole board resources, number
  has reduced to approximately 12,000 allowing
  several prison closings in 2009
• Focus in 2009 is to further reduce past ERD
  population by another several thousand
• In addition, prison admission reduction efforts
  will be expanded

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New Bed Space ProjectionsImpact and Reinvestments

• Reduced Need for Prisons
• Trends in community efforts to keep prison
  admissions low
• Increased paroles for past ERD prisoners NO
  EARLY RELEASES
• Reduced technical violations and parolee failures
• Reassessment of classification approaches for
  prisoners will allow re-configuration of prison
  system
• As prison space becomes available, prison
  closings will be assessed
• Reinvestments on the Front End
• Expand use of sophisticated risk and need
  assessment approaches
• Improved offender based accountability plans
• Improved comprehensive planning under PA 511
• Improved Collaborative Case Management approaches
• Focus on offender employment using Stimulus funds
• Reinvestments on the Back End
• 20M for MPRI and Parole Supervision expansion in
  FY 2009
• 24.2M more for parole services in FY 2010
• 22.7M more for MPRI in FY 2010
• Improvements in prisoner education academic
  training