Auditor general finds safety, security lapses at three Michigan prisons; corrections department vows statewide fixes

The Office of the Auditor General told a joint hearing of the Michigan House Committee on Oversight and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections and Judiciary that performance audits of Baraga Correctional Facility, Ionia Correctional Facility and the Richard A. Hanlon Correctional Facility found widespread noncompliance with selected safety-and-security policies.

"We concluded the facilities partially complied with this objective," Audit Division Administrator Leah Decker said, noting the audit teams reported a total of 18 findings across the three reports, 10 of which the office classified as material conditions.

The findings matter because they involve routine procedures designed to prevent contraband and maintain staff and prisoner safety. The audits documented problems with cell searches, key access controls, metal detectors, tool inventories, segregation reviews, security rounds and gate manifests — and included both direct video evidence and record reviews.

Audit manager Lori Leaming told lawmakers the teams saw frequent mismatches between written logs and surveillance footage. "Thoroughly completed cell searches help to detect and confiscate contraband in prisoners' possession that could compromise the safety and security of staff and prisoners," Leaming said. The audit found that officers documented searches while video showed they did not enter the cells: 38% of documented searches at Ionia, 26% at Baraga and 4% at Richard A. Hanlon could not be corroborated by video. The audits also measured how quickly searches were performed: 46% of Baraga searches observed on video lasted less than one minute, 34% at Richard A. Hanlon and 31% at…