Michigan is one of the nation’s leaders in prisoner rehabilitation according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. The number of Michigan parolees who return to prison has declined 18 percent since 2000. The Pew Center credits the drop to Michigan’s Prisoner Re-Entry Program (MPRP).
John Cordell is with the Michigan Department of Corrections. He says the MPRP reduces crime rates, "which results in less spending on corrections here in Michigan."
Not all parolees are part of the MPRP. Cordell said the programs are based on need:
“The Michigan’s Prisoner Re-Entry Program, we target parolees that are more likely to fail, in the community, with re-entry services.”
Before the program began in 2005, half of Michigan’s parolees returned to prison. Now, only one in three return.
-Bridget Bodnar, Michigan Radio Newsroom
