The state Capitol is now in summer mode. Legislators are wrapping up work on their spring projects and getting ready to go back to their communities for their summer in-district work period, which means little action will be taking place in Lansing over the next few months. With that in mind, we thought we’d give [...]
Something happened to Jazmine Wells on her way to becoming a prosecuting attorney: she visited a jail. Specifically, she visited jail as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan through her participation in a program called Project Community. Project Community is a service learning program housed within the University of Michigan’s sociology department that [...]
One of the most rewarding things about working for criminal justice reform is getting people interested in transforming our court and prison systems and watching the momentum for change build, both in Michigan and nationwide. So, when I got a call from Sean Wilkinson, a reporter and videographer from San Francisco who is representing the [...]
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 [...]