One of the first counties to adopt an inmate co-pay program after the Michigan legislature allowed counties to bill prisoners for jail time served, Macomb County has watched Pay to Stay grow steadily. Last year, the program brought nearly $900,000 to Macomb County. While this revenue hardly meets the cost of operating the county jail system, it helps minimize the cost passed on to taxpayers. Furthermore, taxpayers delight in knowing that offenders must reimburse the county for costs engendered by their own crimes.
The bills that the Pay to Stay program imposes vary according to the inmates' financial status: The criminals pay only what the county believes they can afford. The poorest prisoners pay only $6 per day, while the wealthiest - approximately 22 percent - pay the maximum $56 per day.
Though the county currently uses the funds generated by the program primarily to defray the costs of operating its jails, Macomb should explore the feasibility of funneling part of the revenue into correctional support programs that may indirectly diminish criminal offenses. Possibilities include augmenting educational funds. Congressional Record reports reveal that the rate of criminal offenses among those with solid schooling falls far below that of those with minimal education. By fortifying educational systems, for example, the county could decrease the rate of area crime.
Given the success of Macomb County's program, legislators should examine the practicality of implementing the program on a state level. If adapted to accommodate the state prison system, the Pay to Stay program - or a similar cousin - could draw revenue into the Michigan correctional system. The use of money for educational and employment programs would prove even more useful when administered to felons - those who have committed serious crimes. According to a Capitol Hill study, members of this segment of the criminal population who undertake educational programs or find employment show a 15.7-percent drop in the recidivism rate over a three-year period. A prisoner co-pay program at this tier of the correctional system might prove beneficial to curbing crime.
The success of Macomb County's program has already led both Oakland and Wayne county to adopt similar versions of Pay to Stay. Perhaps in time the program will expand further to bring satisfaction to taxpayers and to improve county and state communities.
09-04-97
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