The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) is finalizing a new statewide contract that will govern how people in prison make phone calls, send messages, participate in video visits, and access tablets.
This decision will shape how thousands of people stay connected to loved ones—and MI-CEMI is urging the state to get it right.
Alongside several advocacy partners, MI-CEMI submitted a formal memo responding to the current Request for Services (RFS‑171‑250000002079‑4). Our message was clear: communication systems must be affordable, accessible, and designed to serve—not exploit—incarcerated people and their families.
Five years after the murder of George Floyd, we’re finally seeing real momentum for meaningful policing reform in Michigan.
A bipartisan group of state senators has introduced the Police Practices Standardization, Transparency, and Trust (S.T.A.T.) package, a set of eleven bills shaped by years of community advocacy to increase transparency, accountability, and public trust in policing.
The S.T.A.T. package (Senate Bills 333–343) would:
Standardize use-of-force policies across the state (SB 333)
Require training in de-escalation, crisis response, and implicit bias (SB 334)
Mandate a duty to intervene to prevent excessive force (SB 335)
Limit no-knock warrants and clarify when they can be used (SB 336)
The Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration (MI-CEMI), which serves over 115 member organizations working to improve public safety and end mass incarceration, established the following policy priorities for 2025–2026. These priorities were shaped through deep collaboration among justice-impacted leaders and organizations across the state, reflecting a range of political perspectives, lived experiences, and roles in the criminal legal sector. Michigan’s criminal legal system demands sweeping change. But experience has shown that without clear focus, urgent efforts can lose power. By aligning around these shared priorities, our movement aims to concentrate its energy where we can make the greatest impact and build momentum for broader transformation.
Prevent Incarceration and Improving Public Safety
Provide Youth Defense [PRIORITY]: Expand Michigan Indigent Defense Commission to include defense services for youth in the juvenile justice system.
Establish Police Improvement Policies [PRIORITY]: Establish statewide policies to improve police practices such as strengthening training requirements, specifying required use of force elements, limiting the use of no-knock warrants, and tracking separation records.
Reduce Pretrial Detention: Implement a court date notification program through SCAO to improve attendance at court dates, reduce use of bench warrants, reduce pretrial detention. Work with local units of government to pilot additional policies to reduce use of wealth-based detention.
Protect Restorative Justice: Establish state policies to increase statewide access to restorative justice processes in court and community-based settings by protecting the privacy of the content of restorative justice proceedings.
Fair Youth Interrogation: Prohibit the use of deceptive interrogation practices against minors.
It’s been five years since the murder of George Floyd sparked a national reckoning. While some reforms have been proposed or enacted, many communities in Michigan are still asking: Has anything truly changed?
On Wednesday, May 28 from 12:00–1:30 PM, join us for a special Michigan Statewide Violence and Incarceration Prevention Learning Community session focused on police accountability. We’ll hear from grassroots organizers, community leaders, and policy experts about what’s working, what still needs to change, and how we can collectively push for better systems of safety and justice.
This session will be moderated by Michael Taylor and will include space for questions, dialogue, and resource sharing.
💡 This is part of MI-CEMI’s Learning Community, a first-of-its-kind statewide space designed for those advancing efforts in restorative justice, police accountability, reentry, violence intervention, and incarceration prevention across Michigan.
At MI-CEMI, we believe that quality programming inside Michigan’s prisons is a cornerstone of both rehabilitation and dignity. That’s why we created the Prison Programming Providers Table—a quarterly space for educators, advocates, and organizers working inside to share resources, improve programming access and quality, and engage with advocacy efforts to address prison policy issues.
Our next virtual gathering is coming up on Tuesday, May 13th from 12:00–1:30 PM EST on Zoom, and we’d love to see you there.
This session will focus on one of the most important—and sometimes overlooked—aspects of the work:
How do we get inside, build meaningful relationships, and maintain healthy boundaries?
We’ll be joined by featured panelists:
Mark Hartman, Executive Director of Humanity for Prisoners and a formerly incarcerated advocate
Paul Draus, University of Michigan Detroit Center, Inside/Out Program
Other speakers will be announced soon.
We’ll also leave plenty of time for open discussion—because we know many of you are navigating these challenges in real time.
