Michigan Shuts 8 Prisons to Cut Costs

You know it's pretty bad when your state is shutting prisons to save money.

Michigan officials announced on Friday the state will shutter three prisons and five prison camps in the face of a $1.4 billion deficit.

At the first sight of this news, I had to do a double take. With Detroit's crime high rate, is shutting prisons really what we need? But it seems there is little else state officials can do. With the auto industry teetering on complete collapse and runaway unemployment numbers, all topped by a looming $1.4 billion budget gap, hard decisions have to be made.

The mood here in Michigan passed the point of mere depressing long ago. For the younger generation, the Motor City has been in gradual decline for longer than they have been alive. Even for those who remember better days, the decline of Detroit (and Michigan) seems to have become something inevitable.

Now it's shutting prisons to save money? Go ahead, if it must be done. It's just one more thing.

Things stopped shocking us long ago.

As it turns out, none of the 4,149 prisoners will be released early. The main toll of this decision will be the elimination of up to 1,000 positions in the Michigan Department of Corrections.

State officials pointed out in a press release that the decision comes as Michigan's prison population is at its lowest level in seven years. An initiative begun in 2004 has decreased the rate of recidivism, contributing to a decline in the number of prisoners entering the system by 9 percent in 2008 and 4 percent in 2009.

The decision results in the reduction of 6,400 beds from the state's prisons.

"Our top priority is public safety...The reorganization we are unveiling today makes sense from a public safety and budget perspective," said Corrections Director Patricia Caruso in the press release, taking a staunch stance that this move will not be detrimental to the state's public safety.

But you have to wonder what the effects will be for Michigan's prison system.

How will having eight less prisons in the state affect law enforcement and public safety? If crime rate increases again, what kind of effects will this burden have on the pared-down prison system? We'll probably find out before long.

Of course, shuttering prisons is only one of a string of cuts across the board. Last month, Gov. Jennifer Granholm slashed $350 million in spending, after the governor already cut $134 million from the budget in December.

Though birds are chirping outside, the mood is grim. It will be a long winter in Michigan.