LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) has been named by Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint) to Governor Whitmer’s newly announced bipartisan Michigan Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration to reform Michigan’s justice system.
According to the Michigan Supreme Court, the group will be analyzing jail data through 2019 and submitting proposals for legislative and administrative changes in 2020.
“The reality in Michigan is that our jail populations have nearly tripled in the last 35 years while crime is at a 50-year low,” Sen. Santana said. “The number of families who have needlessly lost a loved one to our justice system is unfathomable, and we must do what is right for the future of our state. Hopefully this task force will start to right some of those wrongs.”
Whitmer’s Executive Order 2019-10 creates the task force that will review of the state’s jails and courts. The goals of the task force are to:
- Expand jail alternatives;
- Safely reduce jail admissions and length of stay;
- Support consistent, objective and evidence-based pretrial decisions;
- Provide services and support to crime victims;
- Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of justice and public safety systems at the state and county levels; and,
- Set Michigan’s practices in line with research and constitutional mandates.
The growth in jail populations, combined with cuts to local governments, have resulted in drained county budgets, leading to a lack of investment in treatment services, crime prevention, victim services, economic development and other such priorities.
State, law enforcement and local government personnel will work together on the newly created Task Force toward the goal of easing the burden on county budgets and increasing public safety. The collaborative effort consists of leaders from all three branches of government, including Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Chief Justice Bridget McCormack, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and representatives from the legislature, counties and law enforcement.
The state will also receive technical assistance from Pew Charitable Trusts to gather and analyze data.
More information on the Task Force can found on the governor’s website.
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