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How Michigan Can Reduce its Staggering Prison Population

Detroit Free Press Sep 7, 2018
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
Click here for more.
How Michigan Can Reduce its Staggering Prison Population
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Giving Compass’ Take:

• The Detroit Free Press reports on the high incarceration rate in Michigan, where 13,000 youth are arrested each year (90 percent for non-violent offenses).

• Research shows that involvement in the criminal justice system can significantly diminish an individual’s ability to access employment, housing, and other opportunities. What reforms can we make to change things for the better?

• Here is another article that addresses the problems with mass incarceration. 


If Michigan were its own country, its incarceration rate would be higher than almost every country in the world.  Its prison population has risen 450 percent since 1973 — even taking into account significant recent declines. Changes in sentencing law and parole policy, not changes in crime rates (which have declined significantly in recent decades), explain most of this increase.

To put this into national context, as a result of so-called tough-on-crime policies enacted in the 80s and 90s, the U.S. has less than five percent of the world’s population, but over 20 percent of its prison population. While the number of incarcerated youth and adults has tapered in Michigan, the numbers are still staggering. They are made more disquieting because Michigan holds the dubious distinction of being among the 10 states with the highest rate of racial disparities in its prison system.

Nearly 40,000 people are incarcerated in Michigan state prisons, and about 14,000 more in our jails. These figures only tell part of the story. Last year, over 98,000 Michigan residents were under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, including people on probation and parole.

Read the full article about Michigan’s prison problem Melanca Clark at Detroit Free Press.

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Interested in learning more about Criminal Justice? Other readers at Giving Compass found the following articles helpful for impact giving related to Criminal Justice.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    The Overflow of Donations to Racial Justice Groups

    Giving Compass' Take: • After the murder of Geroge Floyd, many racial justice groups have seen an influx of donations, and some have stopped asking for contributions altogether.  • Organizations like the Minnesota Freedom Fund has received backlash because it is using funds for more than just cash bailout. However, MFF states that funds will go toward systemic change (such as completely overhauling the cash bail system and immigration detention processes).  • Strategic giving requires research and understanding of where your dollars are going and where they can make the most impact. Revisit the tenants of impact-driven philanthropy to learn more.  In the wake of George Floyd’s killing, Americans eager to support protests against police brutality have flooded racial justice groups with donations. The groups are, of course, grateful. But they’re also not used to receiving so many millions of dollars at once. Some are struggling to figure out how to handle the unprecedented influx of cash. And now they’re facing another problem: angry donors. Much of the backlash is aimed at the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF). The charitable organization, which pays bail and bonds for people who can’t afford them, has received more than $30 million since Floyd, a black man, was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer, igniting protests in the city that soon spread worldwide. That’s 300 times the organization’s annual budget — a truly staggering increase. Some of the money, donors have discovered, is going to causes they didn’t intend to fund: MFF says it’ll spend some of it paying long-term legal costs for people who were caught and released during the protests, bailing out people in jail for things other than protesting, and paying bonds to free immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Other groups that received a deluge of donations in a short period of time, like the Black Visions Collective and Reclaim the Block in Minneapolis, have been transformed overnight from shoestring operations into well-funded organizations. They’re facing similar questions now, too. But the insinuations against local nonprofits like MFF are off the mark. There are legitimate reasons why a small group that had no national profile a month ago can’t spend millions of dollars right away. Besides, as early as May 29, MFF was already telling people to donate elsewhere, as it already had more than enough. “To demand that groups immediately solve problems that were systematically constructed over so many years is unreasonable and does not advance the cause of liberation,” said Chloe Cockburn, a program officer who directs criminal justice reform grantmaking at Open Philanthropy. “It’s often not possible for a small group with minimal staff to immediately deploy millions of dollars. That does not mean that people were wrong to give the money, or that they should stop giving.” Read the full article about the overflow of donations to racial justice groups by Sigal Samuel at Vox.


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In addition to learning and connecting with others, taking action is a key step towards becoming an impact giver. If you are interested in giving with impact for Criminal Justice take a look at these Giving Funds, Charitable Organizations or Projects.

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