I’m tired, boss. Tired of being on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. I’m tired of never having me a buddy to be with to tell me where we’s going to, coming from, or why.
Mostly, I’m tired of people being ugly to each other. I’m tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world…every day. There’s too much of it. It’s like pieces of glass in my head…all the time. Can you understand?
Chronic understaffing in county jails across West Michigan isn’t just delaying attorney visits; it’s creating life-threatening situations that underscore a deeper crisis: a justice system buckling under its own weight.
A Near-Tragedy in Kalamazoo: People Left in a Hot Transport Van
One person shattered a window to help everyone escape.
Officials later admitted the abandonment occurred during a medical emergency, and internal investigations are still ongoing.
But the bigger picture is clear: this is what happens when a jail system is stretched beyond safe staffing levels.
Legal Access Is Being Systematically Undermined
This wasn’t a one-time failure, it’s part of a pattern. Across West Michigan:
- Attorney visits are frequently canceled or postponed due to lack of available staff to escort individuals or open visitation areas.
- Phone and video access is restricted, particularly for legal calls, when facilities are short-staffed.
- Last-minute lockdowns and movement freezes make timely legal consultation virtually impossible, especially for people awaiting trial.
These breakdowns don’t just frustrate attorneys; they outright violate the constitutional right to legal counsel. When people can’t meet with their lawyers, they can’t prepare for court, review discovery, or make informed decisions about plea offers.
Why the Jobs Are Empty: No One Wants to Work in Oppressive Spaces
Let’s be honest: it’s not just a hiring problem, it’s a morale problem.
Correctional officers are burned out, working forced overtime with little support. They become forced prisoners.
New hires quit quickly, often citing toxic environments, trauma, or ethical conflict. Facilities are understaffed because they’re underhumanized.
Newsflash: People don’t want to work in spaces that grind down both workers and the people in custody.
Jails are stressful, punitive, and often dangerous. Would you want to work in a system designed around surveillance, punishment, and hopelessness?
Most people wouldn’t and that’s exactly why vacancies keep piling up.
What If We Tried the Nordic Model?
There is a better way.
In Norway and other Nordic countries, incarceration is built around rehabilitation, dignity, and opportunity, not suffering.
People are taught entrepreneurship, life skills, and self-governance. Staff work in collaborative, non-punitive environments.
The focus is on reentry, not retribution.
What if we stopped punishing people for failing at systems that already failed them, like poverty, lack of education, trauma, and instead invested in their transformation?
Consider Genessee County’s IGNITE program. When jails teach people how to build stable lives, start businesses, raise families, and rejoin their communities with dignity, the data already demonstrates that we’d reduce recidivism, lower costs, and attract staff who believe in the mission.
Until we make that shift, we’re not fixing a staffing crisis, we’re just recycling harm.
Michigan’s Staffing Breakdown
Multiple Michigan jails and prisons report officer vacancy rates exceeding 18–30%
Corrections staff cite low morale, dangerous conditions, and lack of mental health support.
Incidents like the Kalamazoo transport van abandonment aren’t anomalies; they’re symptoms of a deeper rot.
What Needs to Change
Leaders: you don’t have to wait for Michigan legislators to do anything because guess what? They won’t.
So get off your asses and change it from the inside.
Humanize correctional work: Invest in trauma-informed training, mental health supports, and restorative workplace culture.
Redesign facilities with purpose: Shift from punishment to rehabilitation through meaningful programming and education.
Legally protect attorney access: Mandate uninterrupted legal communication regardless of staffing shortages.
Why This Matters
When legal access breaks down, due process dies.
When incarcerated people are locked in vans and forgotten, public safety is already lost.
When no one wants to work in a place, that place needs to change, not just be restaffed.
It’s time to stop patching holes in a sinking ship.
West Michigan needs to confront not just its jail staffing crisis, but the purpose and values of its carceral system.
Have you seen these issues firsthand, as an attorney, staff member, or advocate? Let’s talk about real solutions. This isn’t just a West Michigan problem. It’s an American one.
