LANSING – A newly released report suggests Michigan’s effort to reduce prison stays has stalled.

The Crime and Justice Institute said there was a 3% increase in the prison population between 2021 and 2023, “with more individuals receiving additional sentences while already incarcerated.”

Over 65% of prisoners are serving sentences of 10 years or longer, according to the institute, which is based in Massachusetts.

The nonprofit institute works with local, state, tribal and national youth and adult justice organizations to improve public safety and enhance the delivery of justice.

Its report identified mandatory minimum sentences and lack of time off for good behavior as part of the reason for long sentences.

“These policies contribute to longer stays, an aging incarcerated population and rising corrections costs,” Len Engel, the institute’s director of policy and campaigns.

Maura McNamara, the institute’ s deputy director, said there are two specific steps Michigan could consider to address lengths of stay.

First, it can enact credit reduction policies, McNamara said in an email.

Second, another area that is likely contributing to lengthy stays is use of the habitual offender law and consecutive sentences, said McNamara.

Jenni Riehle, the public information officer for the Department of Corrections, said there were 32,335 inmates as of March according to the newest report.

“The state has significantly reduced the prison population over the last two decades,” Riehle said.

“The decrease and subsequent increase in the population between 2021 and 2023 was due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

“During the pandemic there were several things that impacted the prison population, such as an overall drop in crime as people stayed home and court proceedings that were often delayed,” said Riehle.

“The state has achieved the lowest recidivism rates in its history,” she said, referring to the number of former inmates who return to prison.

Chuck Warpehoski, the program director of the Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration, said there is a need to look at sentencing research and data.

“Michigan politicians have not been willing to move sentencing policies,” Warpehoski said, calling for a longer-term campaign to build support to reduce sentences and “send people home.”

The institute report said, “Michigan has taken meaningful steps to address its criminal justice challenges in recent years, but long-term incarceration policies remain largely unchanged.”

Heather Thompson, the leader of the Carceral State Project, said there are important efforts in the Legislature to release prisoners who have served long terms, as well as similar efforts at the federal level.

The project is a collaboration of communities and advocacy organizations with researchers from the University of Michigan to address the consequences of mass incarceration.

“There is a great deal of effort to get more punitive bills when it comes to mandatory minimum sentences,” said Thompson.