August, 2020 - Safe & Just Michigan
A look at Wayne County’s lockup
In May 2020, the Vera Institute of Justice released a report on the practices of the Wayne County jail, only months after the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration released their report. The opportunity to compare findings of reports focused on similar issues, in a similar time and completed by national organizations, is unique. Jail data is often difficult to access, and analysis into jail populations in Michigan has been long overdue.
The Joint Task Force analysis into Michigan’s jail population included 20 different counties. However, Wayne County was not included in the analyses. It is often suggested that the way that Wayne County utilizes the criminal justice system is different than the rest of the state, but several similarities found between the two reports further support the recommendations made by the Joint Task Force.
Vera utilized data from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office on all people who had been held in the Wayne County Jail from the beginning of July 2018 to the end of June 2019. The analysis conducted for the Joint Task Force was done by the Pew Charitable Trust, using data from 2016 to 2018. Both sets of analyses examined who is incarcerated in local jails and for how long. These findings were the basis of the recommendations both organizations ended up suggesting.
Who Is Incarcerated in Wayne County and Michigan Jails?
Analyses of the Wayne County Jail data on bookings and the average daily population (ADP) reveal the many similarities to the findings of the Joint Task Force. Looking at the bookings into Wayne County Jail, 53 percent are for relatively minor offenses such as misdemeanors and civil infractions. This is similar to the findings of the Joint Task Force that 64 percent are for relatively minor offenses. The percent of local ordinances are included in the misdemeanor category, as most local ordinances are considered misdemeanors. Across these findings, more than half of the time when someone is being booked into jail, it is for a misdemeanor offense. Further, in Wayne County, half of the 10 most frequent booking charges are considered misdemeanor offenses.
Many of the same offenses are among the top booking charges in the task force analysis of 20 Michigan counties. However, due to differences in offense groupings, direct comparison is not possible. For example, Wayne County drug offenses are separated by misdemeanor and felony, totaling 8 percent of bookings; in the task force analysis, the 20 counties drug offenses are separated by possession and manufacturing, not by severity, and comprise 12 percent of bookings. In both sets of analyses, offenses related to the suspension of licenses, registration and insurance were a top offense, comprising 14 percent of bookings in Wayne County and 9 percent in the other 20 counties. However, in addition to these, both lists include theft, assault, domestic violence, and driving/operating under the influence.
While these findings are important, they are only part of the story. Due to the nature of jails, there is a great amount of churn. Some people stay a few hours or days, while others stay for months.
Since felony offenses carry more serious consequences, people with these charges are usually in jail for longer and make up a larger proportion of the average daily population (ADP). In Wayne County, those charged with a felony comprised 80 percent of those incarcerated. Similarly, the sample of 20 other counties also found that the majority of the ADP was held on felony charges.
To understand the difference in who is booked into jail and who comprises the jail population, the length of stay must be examined. The two reports examined this issue differently, with the Wayne County research focused on specific offenses, while the task force report consolidated offenses into felonies and misdemeanors. Despite the differences in approach, the results are similar; those charged with a misdemeanor as their top offense had much shorter average stays in jail than those who had a felony as their top charge.
The increased availability of aggregate data regarding jail populations was a recommendation made by both reports. Knowing who is incarcerated in Michigan jails, why they are there, and for how long is an important foundation for understanding the recommendations made. Safe & Just Michigan will do further analysis to build on the data explained here and propose recommendations.
Safe & Just Michigan supports all the recommendations made by the Joint Task Force. For more information on the recommendations of the Joint Task Force, please see blogs at safeandjustmi.org/blog explaining the recommendations, and our webinars with experts regarding the recommendations for decriminalization and addressing the suspension of driver’s license at http://bit.ly/YouTubeSJM.
Business Beyond Barriers: A Talk with Justice-Impacted CEOs
For many people who have a criminal record, finding a good-paying job becomes an immense struggle. The jobless rate for formerly incarcerated people hovered around 25 percent — before the COVID-19 crisis began. That’s one reason many formerly incarcerated people turn to entrepreneurship as a means to attain financial security. For others who have been impacted by the justice system, owning a business is simply a lifelong dream — as it is for many other Americans.
Owning a business presents many challenges for anyone who dares to take that chance. That’s even more true for people with a criminal record. Lending institutions may be more hesitant to lend them start-up money, and states often have laws in place restricting the issuance of requisite licenses for people with a criminal history. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to be both formerly incarcerated and a successful business owner — far from it. Around Michigan and across the nation, many formerly incarcerated people have achieved success in business despite these hurdles.
On Monday, Aug. 24, we hosted a webinar featuring a panel of business owners who show the kind of success that formerly incarcerated people are capable of. Panelists for the event included:
Moderator:• Troy Rienstra, Outreach Director, Safe & Just MichiganConvener:• Tarra Simmons, 2020 Washington state representative candidatePanelists:• Gabriel Blauer, Founding Partner, Catastrophic Creations• Richard Bronson, Founder & CEO, 70 Million Jobs• Marcus Bullock, Founder & CEO, Flikshop
If you were unable to join us for this event, a video of the webinar will be posted on our YouTube channel in the days following at
http://bit.ly/YouTubeSJM.
Join Us for Our Virtual Annual Meeting October 8
We hope you’ll make plans to be with us for our Virtual Annual Meeting on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m. We will be holding the meeting online this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we will miss seeing everyone in person, keeping people safe and healthy was our chief concern.
Though we won’t be in the same room, we are working hard to bring together an evening of information, fellowship, and celebration. This year marks Safe & Just Michigan’s 20th anniversary, and we will mark the occasion with nationally recognized speakers, presentations from high-profile state leaders, updates on important legislation and more. We will be presenting the annual Gov. William G. Milliken Award for dedication to advancing criminal justice reform policy to Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, who helped lead the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration. We’ll also be hearing from Desmond Meade and Neil Volz, the president and deputy director, respectfully, of the Florida Rights Restitution Coalition.
Tickets are now available for $10 at http://bit.ly/2020SJM. A limited number of complimentary tickets are also available for people with a financial need — for more information, email info@safeandjustmi.org.
Visit our website at
www.safeandjustmi.org.
If you would like to join Safe & Just Michigan’s efforts, please contact us at
info@safeandjustmi.org or sign up for our electronic communications at
bit.ly/sjmsignup.
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