Michigan profile    Tweet this

Sections

Charts & graphs

The cost of incarceration

Prison gerrymandering

Reports & briefings

Other resources

COVID-19

Michigan has an incarceration rate of 599 per 100,000 people (including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities), meaning that it locks up a higher percentage of its people than almost any democracy on earth. Read on to learn more about who is incarcerated in Michigan and why.

53,000 people from Michigan are behind bars

Additionally, the number of people impacted by county and city jails in Michigan is much larger than the graph above would suggest, because people cycle through local jails relatively quickly. Each year, at least 163,000 different people are booked into local jails in Michigan.

Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years

Also see these Michigan graphs:

• total numbers rather than rates.
• Women’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population
• Men’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population

Today, Michigan’s incarceration rates stand out internationally

In the U.S., incarceration extends beyond prisons and local jails to include other systems of confinement. The U.S. and state incarceration rates in this graph include people held by these other parts of the justice system, so they may be slightly higher than the commonly reported incarceration rates that only include prisons and jails. Details on the data are available in States of Incarceration: The Global Context. We also have a version of this graph focusing on the incarceration of women.

People of color are overrepresented in prisons and jails

Michigan's criminal justice system is more than just its prisons and jails

The high cost of being incarcerated in Michigan

Prisons and jails in Michigan are increasingly shifting the cost of incarceration to people behind bars and their families, hiding the true economic costs of mass incarceration:

• Jails in Michigan charge up to $3.15 for a 15-minute phone call, reaping profits for companies, while prisons charge $2.10 for a 15-minute call.
• Michigan suspended its $5 medical copays in prisons at the beginning of the pandemic for flu related medical visits — but should eliminate them entirely.
• Michigan prisons charge families up to a 20% fee to transfer money to an incarcerated loved one.
• People in Michigan prisons must have an account balance of less than $11 to be eligible for a loan from the prison to purchase basic hygiene products and stamps — money they will have to pay back.
• People in Michigan prisons earn as little as 14¢ an hour for their work.
• New data: Low incomes — but high fees — for people on probation in Michigan
• Michigan charges up to 25¢ for an e-message to or from prison.

Prison-based gerrymandering in Michigan

• See our state campaign page.
• Michigan spares most counties and municipalities from prison-based gerrymandering
• Fixing prison-based gerrymandering after the 2010 Census: Michigan, from Prison Policy Initiative's Fixing prison-based gerrymandering after the 2010 Census: A 50 state guide

Our other articles about Michigan

• People on parole in Michigan can be sent back to prison for "associating" with anyone who has a felony or misdemeanor conviction — even loved ones who are trying to support them
• The parole board in Michigan is releasing 33% fewer people and holding 22% fewer hearings since the pandemic started
• Michigan's choice to criminalize "failure to appear" may be hurting public safety
• The cost of incarcerating older people is incredibly high, and their risk of reincarceration is incredibly low, yet 15% of people in Michigan prisons are over the age of 55. Why is the state keeping so many older people locked up?
• Michigan is one of four states that provides privacy protections for incarcerated people communicating with members of the press.
• Michigan prisons are replacing incarcerated people's personal mail with scans, stifling family contact
• Michigan prisons release about 11,440 people every year
• Who's helping the 52,199 women released from Michigan correctional facilities each year?
• Otsego County: A cautionary tale for counties considering a big, costly new jail
• Michigan hurts jury diversity by excluding people with felony records
• We graded the parole release systems of all 50 states - Michigan gets a C-
• Michigan is 1 of only 8 states still suspending driver's licenses for drug offenses unrelated to driving
• Michigan ACLU uses our map, testifies against harmful loitering bill

Other resources

• Research on Michigan in our Research Library

Data on COVID-19 in Michigan jails and prisons

We gave Michigan a failing grade in September 2021 for its response to the coronavirus in prisons, noting that:

• Michigan released fewer people on parole in 2020 than they had in 2019, and approved a smaller percent of parole applications.
• Michigan failed to utilize one of the most obvious, and easiest, tools for reducing the prison population — stopping prison admissions for technical violations of probation and parole (which are not crimes).

For more detail, see our report States of Emergency. Or check out these other resources:

• How many COVID-19 cases in Michigan communities can be linked to outbreaks in correctional facilities? (data from our report Mass Incarceration, COVID-19, and Community Spread)