State Rep. Mike Hoadley this week called for the Michigan Department of Corrections to revise its parolee housing policy and halt the relocation of potentially dangerous individuals to unsuspecting communities in northern Michigan. He wrote earlier this week to MDOC Director Heidi Washington seeking a return to the much safer long-standing department practice.

Local residents and community leaders in Iosco County have expressed frustration after a felon parolee and his roommate were recently charged with fatally shooting a man and dumping his body in the Huron National Forest.

The current policy does not line up with the department’s own guidelines. The MDOC operating procedure for parole housing states, “If a prisoner has no ties to any Michigan community, commercial placement is arranged in the county or service area of commitment.” But Hoadley pointed out that is not the policy in practice.

“I have listened to law enforcement officers, administrators and residents describe increases in crime throughout my time at the Capitol. Local law enforcement is stretched thin, and county prosecutors will tell you that paroled felons placed in the proximity of other felons will not be reformed. We are all concerned that the current placement compromises our public safety and undermines the successful rehabilitation of parolees. The Department needs to do better.”

Hoadley’s letter to the Department also requests verification of several other policies and expresses a willingness to work together to create solutions to this problem.