By George Hunter
The Detroit News
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Department of Corrections officials released data Tuesday showing sharp declines in the state’s prison population and recidivism rate from 2007-24, a period when statewide arrests and reported crime also fell.
There were 32,778 people incarcerated in Michigan prisons, down 36% from a peak of 51,554 in 2007, according to the Corrections Department report.
“Additional projections predict a continued trend of a steadily decreasing population through the end of this decade, assuming no new legislative or policy initiatives are enacted,” a Department of Corrections press release said.
The 36.4% decline in Michigan’s prison population from 2007-24 came as police in the state made significantly fewer arrests. While 2024 data is not available from the Michigan State Police, arrests in the state fell from 320,774 in 2007 to 174,095 in 2023, a 45.7% decline.
A “significant” reason for the drop in the state’s inmate population and recidivism rate is the trend toward not sending probation and parole violators back to prison, the MDOC said.
“The parole population has decreased 60% since its 2009 peak and the probation population has decreased nearly 46% since its 2010 peak, due to successful completions and reduced reoffenses,” the Department of Corrections said. “This has happened in tandem with increased moves to parole, which increased 5.7% from 2023 to 2024. This illustrates that while the Parole Board has granted more requests for parole, reentry efforts have been increasingly successful as the overall population continues to stay historically low.
“Probation violators made up a significant part of this population decrease in recent years, with violations down 7.1% from 2023,” according to the Corrections Department. “Probation violators being sentenced to prison is down 72% from the 2002 peak number. Similarly, technical rule parole violators returning to prison have remained flat for the third year in a row, a 40-year low, down 74% from the 2002 high.”
The Department of Corrections reported a 22.7% recidivism rate, which is the second-lowest in Michigan’s history. In Michigan , recidivism is counted when someone commits a crime within three years of being released from prison.
The low recidivism rate marked “a significant improvement over the past decades ... illustrating not only a declining prison population, but the success of those released from custody and the reduced chance of them reoffending,” the Department of Corrections said.
“I’m proud of each and every member of our department who has impacted and motivated those in our custody to become successful, productive members of our communities,” Department of Corrections Director Heidi E. Washington said in a statement. “This report shows our evidence-based practices are working, as total population and recidivism rate numbers continue to remain at historic lows.”
The report came a day after 20 female inmates at Michigan’s only women’s prison sued the state and the department because they said they were subjected to trauma and “institutional betrayal” by a state policy that allowed them to be recorded by guards’ body cameras while they underwent strip searches. The policy was criticized the same day at a state House committee meeting. Washington and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were named in the lawsuit.
While Michigan’s population has hovered around 10 million from 2007-23, reported overall and violent crime dropped during the period, according to Michigan State Police data. In 2007, there were 359,552 total crimes reported in Michigan, which dropped to 199,650 in 2023.
There were 53,988 violent crimes recorded in Michigan in 2007, which dropped to 45,060 in 2023, MSP figures show, although there has been an increase in aggravated assaults — by far the most prevalent violent crime — during that period, with 29,800 offenses recorded in 2007, which jumped to 35,116 in 2023.
Russ Marlan, the Department of Corrections’ deputy director of field operations, said the agency’s statistics “prove the impact MDOC is having on enhancing public safety in our communities.”
“What we are doing is working — implementing evidence-based practices and focusing on helping people become successful contributors to society is the best way to improve public safety in the long term,” Marlan said in a statement.
The agency touted recent initiatives, including “the Vocational Village trades training program, post-secondary education opportunities which are now supported by 12 partnering higher education institutions, supports for qualified individuals entering parole, targeted recovery programming, and more,” the press release said. “For those who graduate from Vocational Village programs, the recidivism rate decreases to 12%.”
In Fiscal Year 2025, it costs $49,290 annually to house each Michigan inmate, according to the department.
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