- Michigan prison population rose slightly after years of steady decline
- Correctional facilities are operating nearly at capacity as available beds decline following facility closures
- Advocates say longer sentences drive population growth
Michigan’s prison population has seen a slight increase after years of decline, driven in part by inmates serving longer minimum sentences, putting the state’s correctional facilities closer to operating at full capacity.
A new report from the Crime and Justice Institute, a Boston-based nonprofit, shows that as of 2023, more people were staying behind bars longer in Michigan, even as the number of available prison beds has declined following recent facility closures.
Michigan’s prison population increased 3% between 2021 and 2023, from 32,186 inmates to 32,986. While the population had dipped slightly to 32,411 as of December, prisons remain nearly full.
“The thing that is particularly dire in Michigan is the increases we saw in how long people are staying (in prison),” said Maura McNamara, deputy director of the Crime and Justice Institute.
More than 65% of inmates are serving sentences of 10 years or more, the study found.
According to the report, the average minimum sentence in Michigan grew 30% over the last decade, from about nine years in 2014 to 12 years in 2023.
“It’s a very costly system if you are keeping people there for that amount of time. The broader question is, could the resources to keep people in (prison) for this amount of time be better spent?” McNamara said.
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Nationwide, the average state prisoner’s sentence was less than three years as of 2018, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
After the state enacted Truth in Sentencing Laws in 1998 and 2000, which established sentencing guidelines, individuals convicted of felony offenses are required to serve all of their minimum sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
The law also eliminated “good time,” which previously allowed prisoners to reduce their sentences through good behavior, work assignments or education programs.
“It makes Michigan a big outlier in terms of how long people are (incarcerated) … which makes any sort of transition back to the community really difficult,” McNamara said.
The prison population remains far below the state’s peak of 51,554 inmates in March 2007. But the number of beds has also declined after several facilities closed in recent years.
The Detroit Reentry Center, which had a capacity for 879 prisoners, closed in January 2021. The Michigan Reformatory, which held 1,149 prisoners, closed the following year.
“It is in the best interest of the department to operate as close to capacity as possible to ensure that buildings, housing units, and staff resources are not being used to operate and manage empty beds or facilities larger than they need to be,” Jenni Riehle, public information officer for the MDOC, told Bridge Michigan in an email.
State prisons were nearly 92% occupied in 2021 as the number of available beds decreased by 5,040, leaving just 2,870 available. By the end of 2024, prisons were 95% occupied, with only 1,552 beds available.
“Every unit closure or reduction in beds is carefully analyzed by the department to account for staff resources, prisoner programming, and security needs,” Riehle said.
When prisons reach capacity
Advocates say that rising prison populations can strain facilities that are already understaffed and further delay services or rehabilitative treatment for inmates.
“The Department of Corrections is already understaffed and as a result of being understaffed, they are unable to address the needs of people who are currently incarcerated,” said Hakim Crampton, government legislative liaison for Michigan Citizens for Prison Reform. “If individuals are serving longer terms, the longer they go without being able to be assessed, evaluated (and have) programs assigned to them.”
The overall staff vacancy rate across the state’s26 facilities is about 16%, which the MDOC says is a slight decrease from the last report. But some facilities have a vacancy rate of 30% or higher.
“When (facilities) are overcrowded, correctional officers have to manage a lot differently. That means more lockdowns occur because the short staff are unable to manage a large population,” Crampton said.
“Oftentimes, it puts pressure on the cafeteria to feed a larger population. Whereas people used to go to a cafeteria to eat, because it’s overcrowded, oftentimes (staff) have to bring the food to the population,” he said.
Rising costs of incarceration
Even as Michigan’s prison budget has stayed mostly flat in recent years, the cost of incarcerating each person is climbing.
The state spent about $52,050 per prisoner in 2025, up from roughly $48,000 the year before, according to an analysis of the MDOC’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The department projects it will spend $48,415 for each inmate this fiscal year.
The report suggests that one factor driving up costs is the state’s aging prison population, with nearly 20% of the population aged 55 or older.
“The longer people stay, the older they get. This is not a population that’s healthy to begin with. They’re dealing with a lot of physical and behavioral challenges that largely age them a lot quicker than the average person in the public,” said Leonard Engel, director of policy and campaigns for the Crime and Justice Institute.
“You don’t get the highest quality health care in a prison environment but it still costs an awful lot … to keep people alive and respond to their medical needs,” Engel said. “As the population ages, those needs get more acute and they’re much more costly.”
Editor’s note: The Crime and Justice Institute study was supported by Arnold Ventures. Arnold Ventures is a Bridge Michigan funder. It had no role in the reporting, writing or editing of this article.