Kent County MI Honor Camp is classified as a County Jail facility, the lowest custody level for a prison. Minimum security prisons or prison camps are comprised of non-secure dormitories which are rarely patrolled by correctional officers. The prison has no fence to speak of, no armed watch towers or roving patrol. There is less supervision and control over inmates in the dormitories and less supervision of inmate movement within the prison than at any other custody level. Inmates assigned to minimum security prisons generally pose the least risk to public safety and often get placed in the community work space - returning to the camp in the evening. The camp is considered the best situation to be in if you have to be incarcerated. Inmates must short-timers and non-violent with a clear disciplinary history to qualify for camp designation. Long term inmates at higher security institutions within the system are incentivized to "work their way down" in the custody levels to be eligible for transfer to the camp. The camp has it has its own group laundry/kitchen area, toilet and shower area adjacent to the sleeping quarters that contain double bunks and lockers. There are plenty of exercise areas including a softball field, walking track, weight pile, and even racquet sports. The camp has a library with computer terminals for legal research. Inmates are still required to follow a rigid schedule for meals and count time.
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Kent County MI Honor Camp is run by the county sheriff’s department and the prison is run by the state department of corrections. Jail is for inmates who are awaiting time or who have been sentenced to less than a year. Prison is only available for people who have been sentenced to more than a year on any one charge.
Neither prison nor jail is nice but they differ in their levels of security, the programs they have and the quality of the environment. Additionally, an inmate cannot ask for a motion to reconsider once they have been transferred to the custody of the department of corrections.
The Sheriff’s department calculates what percentage of your jail time that you actually have to serve. The law requires that the sheriff’s department make people serve a minimum of 50% of their sentence if they are convicted of a misdemeanor.
The jail will accept inmates from the US Marshal and ICE where space is necessary. In comparison, state prison is for inmates serving lengthier sentences on crimes that are more severe in nature.
The Kent Sheriff’s Department calculates what percentage of a felony jail sentence a person will serve. The law requires that an inmate serve at least 85% of their felony jail sentence for non-mandatory time and 100% of their mandatory time.
Kent County MI Honor Camp also offers and manages alternatives to jail such as work release programs, work furlough, house arrest, and private county jails where the person convicted can serve their sentences on weekends. Because overcrowding is a problem in both county jail and state prison, both systems operate a good behavior program. Those who are on good behavior can have their sentences reduced or cut.
If you are not serving a mandatory minimum sentence and you do not get into trouble while in jail the sheriff’s department will typically give automatic good behavior time. When you first receive your release date from the jail, within a few days of being incarcerated, the good time deduction will have already been included in most cases. For non-mandatory misdemeanor good time off is 50% and for felonies is typically about 10-15%.