January is the start of Michigan’s 101st Legislature, which will run through the years of 2021-2022. Since the entire House stood for election last year while the Senate did not — its members face re-election in 2022 — state representatives have spent most of their time so far getting prepared for the legislative season. New [...]
The Michigan Jail Task Force on Jail and Pre-Trial Incarceration made 18 recommendations that were turned into legislation. In the last weeks of 2020, the Michigan Legislature passed that legislation and changed the laws but more importantly it will change hundreds of thousands of Michiganders lives for the better. Some of this legislation focused on [...]
This past year has been one of extremes. The COVID-19 pandemic has been tragic and caused enormous loss, as many people with loved ones inside prison know all too well. At the other extreme, it has also been a year of unprecedented gains in criminal justice reforms. In between, all of us at Safe & [...]
We are less than three weeks away from an historic election — are you ready to vote? Perhaps you have already? Maybe you’re wondering if it’s too late to register? Or maybe you don't even think you can vote because of a criminal record? We don’t know how any of the many contests currently underway [...]
It’s no secret by now that 2020 is an unusual year. From the way we work to the way we send kids to school, and even the way we keep in touch with loved ones who are incarcerated, nearly everything we do is being done differently this year. So hopefully, it won’t come as a [...]
This blog is the first in a series of three comparing the results of the Wayne County Jail report and the findings of the Joint Task Force. This blog focuses on what offenses people booked into jail for. In May 2020, the Vera Institute of Justice released a report on the practices of the Wayne [...]
The recommendations of the Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration are getting ready to officially start their move through the Michigan Legislature next week. When people ask me about the best ways to address over-incarceration I usually with the question: “Do you mean in jails or in prisons?” Jails house people who are [...]
I had been looking forward to this great opportunity as the new community engagement specialist at Safe & Just Michigan. Then, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer put the state under shelter in place status the day after my first day on the job. I couldn’t help but think about how exactly I could engage the community during [...]
The Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration identified the suspension of driver’s licenses for reasons that have nothing to do with unsafe driving as one of the major drivers in Michigan’s jail growth over the past few decades. In 2018, nearly 358,000 people lost their driver’s license for reasons that had nothing [...]
The final report of the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration found that most arrests in Michigan are for misdemeanors that harmed no one. Research shows police squander many hours and large amounts of taxpayer dollars to arrest, book and jail people for these minor offenses. For that reason, the task force recommended [...]