Transparency & Oversight Action Center
How to File a Complaint
The Corrections Ombudsman website has helpful information for families or advocates.
Before submitting a written grievance, MDOC policy states that a grievant must attempt to resolve the issue with the staff member involved. If they are unable to resolve it at that point, the issue can be pursued through the prisoner grievance procedure. See the Policy Directive 03.02.130. The grievance process is a prisoner process, which means that family members and friends may not file on behalf of the prisoner.
Once you have completed the grievance procedure through all 3 steps, you may send the grievances, all attachments, and the MDOC responses, to the Ombudsman’s office for review, if your complaint was not resolved by the grievance.
The Ombudsman office policy usually requires hearing directly from the prisoner involved in the complaint before we can begin an investigation. Mail should be sent to:
Corrections Ombudsman
Boji Tower – 4th floor124 West Allegan St.
PO Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
If families or advocates know of an incarcerated individual who does not have the ability to write the Ombudsman, you may fill out this FORM.
REPORTS & DATA
How America’s Patchwork of Death-In-Custody Rules Is Failing Families
A new report from Princeton University examines how prisons and jails across the country handle deaths in custody, finding major gaps in policies concerning family notification, religious beliefs, and the treatment of remains. In this article from The Marshall Project, Ilica Mahajan explores the findings and the devastating impact these policies can have on families.