Corrections officials announced Wednesday that Michigan prisons are seeing the lowest recidivism rate in state history.
State officials say the state’s recidivism rate has fallen below 27%. That’s a two percent drop since just last year.
Recidivism is the rate at which convicted criminals reoffend.
The rate is also among the lowest in the country. Virginia has the lowest recidivism rate at roughly 23%.
Corrections spokesperson Chris Gautz said Michigan prison officials are proud of that number.
“It’s not just a number, it's not just a baseball stat. What’s behind that number is less crime and safer communities.”
Gautz said Michigan’s low rate is a sign of the success of programs aimed at helping rehabilitate prisoners.
“We know that when we spend the extra time, the extra money, the extra resources on these programs and get these prisoners through them they have a higher likelihood of never coming back to prison, getting a job when they get out, and keeping that job.”
Gatuz said Michigan’s prison population has continued to decline - now resting at just under 38,000.
“Our projections don’t show big drop offs in the next couple of years. We’ve really hit a natural floor. 36-37 thousand is probably where our capacity is going to be for a while until we see further criminal justice reforms.”
Specifically, Gautz said minimum sentencing will likely keep the prison population stable in coming years.
But, he said the department is unlikely to close a prison anytime soon.