Flint, Mich. — In the past, Genesee County Jail has consistently exceeded capacity. But officials say that has changed.
Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson stood in front of reporters on Jan. 8 to announce a record decline in Flint’s inmate population and a remedy to the relentless overcrowding nationwide jails have experienced for decades.
“What if I had to tell you that we found a way to reduce crime by 23% to save this community over a half a million dollars to reduce the jail population by over 100?” said Swanson. “The answer is IGNITE.”
Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education (IGNITE), is an educational program launched by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 8, 2020. The initiative is geared toward reversing the cycle of generational incarceration and reducing recidivism, or the likelihood of a convicted criminal to reoffend.
“We’re not putting [offenders] back in the system…it’s not because the law enforcement in Genesee County aren’t doing their job, it’s because we have less people breaking the law,” Swanson said.
The number of days the jail has experienced overcrowding has declined drastically since the launch of IGNITE. According to the sheriff’s office, overcrowding dropped from 186 days in 2021, 278 days in 2022, 92 days in 2023 and zero days in 2024.
One additional month of IGNITE exposure reduces weekly misconduct within jail and three-month recidivism by 25% according to a 2024 study published by researchers from Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School, Brown University and the University of Michigan.
The study also noted that cultural change within the jail and improved literacy and numeracy scores are contributing factors.
“I cut my teeth on overcrowding. That’s all I knew,” Capt. David Kennamer said, referring to his decades of experience as an officer before IGNITE. “It’s a culture change internally, and it’s hard to put into words the effect it has overall. It’s hard to have a problem in the jail when you’re learning how to write and read and do these kind of things, so it takes all that away. Plus now my staff is supervising 100 less people a day [and] that’s 100 less opportunities for an incident to happen.”
Correctional officers were asked to interact positively with incarcerated individuals by facilitating a positive learning environment and treating them as students.
Before IGNITE, the county jail had limited educational programming for incarcerated people. The jail only offered GED classes to a small, selected group of individuals through Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools.
Currently, 300 of the 550 inmates in the jail are enrolled in classes. Officers enthusiastically listed the available classes when asked: hair braiding, welding, social work, first aid, music production, literacy, healthy living and more.
Instruction is personalized for each participant based on their educational background and baseline testing. They are enrolled in classes for five days a week for two hours a day. The coursework can be short-term, mid-term, or long-term depending on the projected length of their stay, with diplomas awarded to all who complete their courses.
Even after leaving, those who participated can continue their education by enrolling in a free Adult Education program at Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools.
According to researchers, IGNITE is mostly funded by existing county resources, relying on repurposed jail space and staff, which has led the National Sheriffs’` Association to begin “scaling-up similar programs” in jails across the country.
In addition to its low costs, researchers report that one year of exposure to the IGNITE program generates significant savings for the department and surrounding community. According to a 2024 study, one additional month of IGNITE exposure decreases the social cost of crime by approximately $2,671 per person and lowers incarceration costs by about $283 per person over a three-month horizon. Over a 12-month period, these reductions grow to $5,340 and $1,945, respectively, totaling $7,285 in savings per person. These notable cost reductions come despite stable spending at Genesee County Jail before and after the program’s implementation.
“I can tell you, other jails have picked up on it, and as they build new facilities, they don’t want to build more beds. They want to build facilities that house those that need to be there but also give them a pathway so they never come back. That’s the key.” Swanson said.
Thank you for the information and update!
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