Michigan’s declining state prison inmate population is prompting state corrections officials to shut down a re-entry facility in Detroit.
The Detroit Reentry Center opened in the former Ryan Correctional Facility after it closed in 2012.
The center provided housing and programs for parolees and prisoners needing dialysis treatment. But recently, the center has been handling only about a fifth of its peak number of offenders.
By closing the Detroit Reentry Center in January, the Michigan Department of Corrections expects to save $12 million dollars during the next fiscal year.
“The decision to close a facility is always hard, and I realize this will be a difficult time for the staff at DRC,” says Heidi Washington, Director Michigan Department of Corrections.
Since 2005, the Corrections Department has closed and consolidated 28 facilities.
Since peaking in 2007 at more than 51,000 inmates, Michigan’s state prison population is now under 35,000.
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