Michigan spends two billion dollars annually to operate 30 correctional facilities. Michigan annually spends over $35,000 to incarcerate each of the nearly 40,000 people it imprisons each year.

There are strategies that will allow us to safely reduce the state’s reliance on incarceration – and to save precious taxpayer resources. These strategies are oftentimes less expensive, and better options than the ineffective, punitive measures Michigan has relied on in the past.

Safe & Just Michigan is working to reduce justice-involvement by addressing the root causes of crime instead of simply responding to crime in punitive, reactionary ways. We advance strategies that improve community safety and eliminate unnecessary corrections spending, because crime prevention is a better, more effective investment.

These strategies include:

  • Promoting individual and community health, healing, and well-being;
  • Improving opportunities for successful reentry after prison, and promoting policies that reduce recidivism;
  • Expanding educational opportunities, workforce development and job programs;
  • Increasing the use of trauma-informed services for crime survivors and their families; and
  • Expanding access to safe, affordable housing for crime survivors and for people involved or at-risk of being involved in the criminal justice system.