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Michigan tests points-based security scoring for men's prisons starting Dec. 1
Michigan's Department of Corrections will pilot a new security-scoring system at men's prisons, using software built by the nonprofit Recidiviz, with officials saying it predicts future violence about 30% better.
Michigan is set to begin testing a new security-scoring system at its men's prisons on Dec. 1, a pilot that could expand to more facilities if the results hold. The state says the tool predicts future prison violence about 30% better than the approach it currently uses, though officials have not disclosed how that figure was calculated.
The Michigan Department of Corrections oversees roughly 32,000 incarcerated people, and a person's security level shapes where they are housed, how closely they are supervised and which programs they can access. Michigan uses Levels I, II, IV and V, with no general population Level III. The new system is meant to inform those placements.
The software was built by the nonprofit Recidiviz, which is used in 19 states. Recidiviz trained the system on 10 years of Michigan classification data. The company says no artificial intelligence calculates the security scores themselves. Instead, the scoring is a points-based, rules-driven formula that staff can examine, and the same inputs always produce the same score. Staff may override a score for medical or safety reasons. Recidiviz does use AI elsewhere in its products, such as for drafting case notes and summarizing meetings, the company has said.
Under the new approach, recent incidents are weighted more heavily than older ones, and reviews happen on an ongoing basis rather than at fixed intervals. Those changes are central to the state's argument that the system will better reflect a person's current risk.
Concerns have been raised about the accuracy of the underlying data. Inaccurate disciplinary records could distort the scores, and that risk is one reason the pilot is drawing scrutiny. The timing also matters: recent cellmate killings have prompted closer attention to how prisoners are classified and housed.
The debate is tied to a broader capacity problem. Byron Osborn, president of the union representing corrections staff, has pointed to a shortage of high-security beds. Michigan plans 870 high-security beds under its Safe Prisons Initiative, and two new units at the Oaks and St. Louis facilities are expected in about 2.5 years.
Whether the pilot expands will depend on what the testing shows. For now, the state is betting that a transparent, formula-based tool can make placement decisions more accurate, while critics want assurances that the records feeding it are reliable and that the 30% claim can be independently checked.
Source: foxnews.com
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