Assaults on prison staff have increased in Michigan, union says
A union representing Michigan corrections officers says violent assaults against prison staff have increased at the state’s prisons that house its highest-security inmates, and it is pressing the Michigan Department of Corrections to make changes that it says would better separate dangerous prisoners.
The Michigan Corrections Organization said a review commissioned by Bridge Michigan found 71 assaults on employees at four Michigan prisons that house the state’s highest-security inmates in 2024, up from 44 in 2023. The union said the Department of Corrections had not yet released critical incident reports for 2025, but it described continued problems at facilities such as the Marquette Branch Prison, where, it said, there was a “surge” in violence, contraband and assaults and threats to staff in October.
In a letter to Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington, Michigan Corrections Organization President Byron Osborn argued that violent attacks persist because, as he described it, dangerous prisoners are not being held often enough in the highest-security settings. Osborn wrote that the “improper placement continues to result in a strained system that is more dangerous for the frontline officers,” and he said prisoners break rules, including assaulting staff and each other, and “accumulate points” but in many cases face “no serious repercussions.”
The union said the placement issue extends beyond the highest-security level. Osborn said Level V inmates are not being segregated as often as they should be and are being housed in Level IV facilities in high numbers due to a lack of beds, and he wrote that the problem “persists down the line,” with Level II facilities also housing a high percentage of Level IV inmates.
Osborn also asked Washington to consider changes at the St. Louis Correctional Facility, saying it should be converted from Level IV to Level V and equipped with two segregation units so the state has more dedicated space for high-security inmates. The Michigan Department of Corrections did not respond to multiple requests for comment, according to the report.
How Michigan assigns security levels
Michigan’s prison system houses about 33,000 inmates, according to the Department of Corrections, and facilities are classified by security level, ranging from Levels I and II, designed for fewer restrictions, to Levels IV and V, designed for more dangerous individuals.
Most Michigan prisons house multiple security levels rather than a single classification. Marquette Branch Prison, for instance, holds both Level I and Level V inmates, and very few prisons house only one security level, which the union said is typically Level I or II. The report said no Michigan prison exclusively houses Level V inmates, and it identified Marquette Branch Prison, Baraga Correctional Facility, Charles E. Egeler Reception & Guidance Center and Ionia Correctional Facility as the only state prisons that house Level V inmates, though none do so exclusively.
The union pointed to recent incidents at several of those facilities. It said corrections officers at Ionia prison were spit on, struck and injured during an incident involving a “disruptive” prisoner in July and August, and it said a prisoner attacked multiple officers at the Egeler Reception Center in April as officers tried to prevent him from swallowing a toothbrush.
Separation debate: union request vs. reform advocates
Michigan prison reform advocates, the report said, agreed that the state could respond better to violent incidents but argued that officials should focus on root causes of violence instead of prioritizing separation alone. Hakim Crampton, legislative liaison for Citizens for Prison Reform, said officials “must begin prioritizing people with the most violent offenses first,” adding that they do not need to prioritize people coming into prison for check fraud with a shorter time left to serve.
The report said the state partners with 13 colleges and universities to offer educational programs inside 17 prisons, but it reported that those partners do not work with the four Level V facilities. It said Marquette, Ionia and Baraga offer basic adult education, employment readiness, GED completion and outpatient mental health, and Crampton argued against placing people convicted of murder, robbery and other violent, aggressive offenses into dormitory-style living where he said larger groups can increase the risk of violence against both peers and staff.
Advocates cited research suggesting long-term isolation can worsen behavior rather than improve safety. The report referenced a 2024 study published in the Annual Review of Criminal Justice that it said found extended confinement in small cells with minimal social contact is associated with serious physical and psychological harm, and it noted that the Michigan Department of Corrections has worked to reduce its use of administrative segregation, commonly known as solitary confinement.
State data cited in the report said the average number of inmates held in segregation each day in 2024 was 339, down from 972 per day a decade earlier. Crampton said it is “counterproductive” to use a punitive approach for people who have already been punished to the most severe extent, including separation from family.
Force and Tasers cited in 2024 comparisons
Alongside the assault figures, the union said data shows corrections officers at high-security prisons used force and Tasers more often in 2024 than in 2023. The report said that at Marquette, Baraga and Egeler, force was used to control a prisoner 293 times in 2023 and 439 times in 2024, and that Tasers were deployed 61 times in 2023 and 107 times in 2024.
By comparison, the report said Central Michigan, Cooper Street, Newberry and Parnall correctional facilities—described as housing only Level I inmates—reported fewer employee-victim assaults, with six in 2023 and five in 2024.