Amid a continued rise in prison assaults, the Michigan Department of Corrections this month launched a new “safe prisons initiative” that aims to improve conditions for inmates and officers alike.
Among other things, the initiative seeks to provide improved prisoner programming to promote positive behavior, review segregation needs for violent inmates and provide corrections officers with both targeted training and technology to assist them in day-to-day operations.
Additional details are not immediately available, but a spokesperson told Bridge Michigan the department is working to expand evidence-based programs for violence prevention and substance use treatment, while also reviewing tools to better equip officers.
“The department is committed to our core mission of public safety, with the vast majority of day-to-day prison activities being conducted in a safe and compliant way,” Director Heidi E. Washington said in a statement announcing the initiative.
“Our staff, those we supervise and the friends and family of both, deserve nothing less than our best when it comes to their well-being and the safety of the ones they love.”
The new effort follows complaints from a union representing corrections officers and the release of new data showing prison assaults continued to climb last year.
There were 355 assaults against prison employees in 2025, up from 299 the prior year. Likewise, there were 527 assaults against prisoners, up from 481 in 2024.
The initiative, which MDOC announced Friday, focuses on five components: prisoner classification and bed space, contraband introduction and technology, prisoner programming, training and staff support and recruitment.
Byron Osborn, president of the Michigan Corrections Organization, said he is “cautiously optimistic” and hopes that the department makes some adjustments, especially to how inmates are classified and housed.
The union previously urged the department to do more to separate violent prisoners, alleging the state has too often held dangerous inmates in lower-security settings not designed to house them.
“One of the main problems we have right now and the reason why prisons are so unsafe, is that prisoners are being housed in lower security levels than their behavior warrants,” Osborn told Bridge this week. “We do hope that they take a hard look at that and make some adjustments statewide.”
Michigan facilities are classified by security level, from levels I and II with fewer restrictions to levels IV and V for more dangerous individuals. Most prisons house multiple levels, and only four hold level V inmates, though not exclusively.
On Wednesday, the department announced plans to increase the number of Level IV beds at Macomb Correctional Facility, adding about 190 higher-security beds. The Level II unit at Chippewa Correctional Facility will also be temporarily closed because of reduced demand for lower-level housing and staff shortages.
The department is also developing targeted training missions to send pre-selected staff to train side-by-side with staff at facilities if there is an increase in critical incidents, a spokesperson told Bridge.
Currently, newly hired correctional officers complete an eight-week training academy and officers must also complete 40 hours of training each year, according to Osborn, the union leader.
“One thing that needs to be focused on is a return to more hands-on use of force training,” he said. “In years past, MDOC has gotten more and more dependent on tasers and use of chemical agents … and those are successful sometimes but they’re not always successful.”
An extended effort
The new safety initiative is an extension of policies already in place, according to the department.
In January, the department implemented a new mail policy in which prisoners will receive photocopies of confidential and legal mail instead of the originals, which are shredded to prevent contraband from entering the facility.
The policy will still require mail handlers to open each piece of legal mail in front of the inmate, and the photocopies will be handed directly to them. The original mail will be shredded right in front of them as well and discarded in a secure location.
Blotter paper can absorb fentanyl and other narcotics like LSD, which can then be distributed through the mail. The department reported that it found suboxone strips, which are used to treat opioid use disorder, synthetic marijuana and other synthetic drugs, on envelopes and other mail.
Previously, the department only photocopied standard mail, after finding adulterated paper, stickers and other items in the mail, but legal mail was excluded from this process.
Prison condition complaints
The initiative comes just weeks after women at the Huron Valley Correctional Facility, the state’s only women’s prison, released an open letter seeking clemency or resentencing for roughly 800 women over a three-year period due to concerns about conditions at the facility, which currently houses about 1,800 women.
“By reducing the population by half, this will reduce strain on the water, electricity, plumbing, sewage and waste systems and allow for necessary remodeling towards a single cell occupancy facility to begin immediately,” the women wrote.
The letter asks Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to grant clemency to over 100 women who have completed programs while incarcerated, and it calls for legislative reforms that would allow survivors of abuse to apply for resentencing.
Last month, state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, testified before the House Oversight Committee that she saw black spots in the seams of the shower when she visited the correctional facility on Feb. 12. When asked what those spots were, the warden told her it was black paint on clear grout — not mold — and offered to eat it in front of her to prove it was not toxic, she said.
Pohutsky also alleged inmates at the Ypsilanti facility suffered from health issues directly stemming from unsafe living conditions, including an inmate who tested positive for Aspergillus niger, a type of black mold found in damp indoor environments. She also cited a recent report from the Michigan Department of Corrections documenting multiple air circulation devices in need of replacement.
In announcing the new safe prisons initiative, MDOC Correctional Facilities Administration Deputy Director Jeremy Bush said the department “has been working to collect and analyze critical data that will help the department identify concerning trends and incidents.”
“Through the course of our work we will be continually evaluating our effectiveness while maintaining open communications with our partners and facility staff to help improve operations,” he said in a statement.
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This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
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