LANSING, Mich. – Michigan prison populations continued to decrease in 2019, the Department of Corrections said.
As of Thursday, 38,005 people are incarcerated in Michigan prisons, the lowest numbers of inmates since the mid-90s, MDOC officials said.
That number has been on a steady decline over the past five years.
“We are proud of the results we have produced for the state of Michigan,” said Heidi Washington, director of the Michigan Department of Corrections. “The MDOC is often the forgotten link in public safety, but the reforms and programs our dedicated employees provide every day are making a real difference in creating a safer Michigan.”
MDOC officials said those who have been released from prison often are not returning behind bars, and parole violations and parolees with new convictions are down more than 20 percent in the past five years.
“The Michigan Department of Corrections’ community corrections professionals have worked diligently to improve the lives of people in the justice system who are paying their debt to society. These efforts have borne significant success across many areas of the department, leading to a nearly 18 percent drop in recidivism over the past 20 years,” said Veronica Cunningham, executive director of the American Probation and Parole Association.