9.13Special Alternative Incarceration (SAI) Units

The special alternative incarceration program is established and operated by the Department of Corrections as provided in the Special Alternative Incarceration Act, MCL 798.11 et seq. See also MCL 791.234a(1). The SAI units provide a program of physically strenuous work and exercise, modeled after military basic training and other programming as determined by the Department of Corrections. MCL 798.14(1).

A court may order a person to complete a program of incarceration in an SAI unit as a term or condition of probation. See MCL 769.31(b)(iv) (defining intermediate sanction to include probation with SAI); MCL 771.3b(1) (probation); MCL 791.234a (placement of prisoner in a special alternative incarceration unit).¹ Instead, MCL 791.234a requires the Department of Corrections to consider prisoners sentenced to indeterminate terms of imprisonment for placement in an SAI unit. MCL 791.234a(1). MCL 791.234a sets out eligibility criteria and conditions that must be met before placement in an SAI unit; it also provides time restraints for any SAI program, procedures for parole following completion of the program, and other procedures and requirements relevant to participation in an SAI program.

Relevant to a sentencing court, MCL 791.234a provides that the Department of Corrections “shall not” place a prisoner in an SAI unit “[i]f the sentencing judge prohibited a prisoner’s participation in the special alternative incarceration program in the judgment of sentence[.]” MCL 791.234a(4). “If the sentencing judge permitted the prisoner’s participation in the special alternative incarceration program in the judgment of sentence, that prisoner may be placed in a special alternative incarceration unit if the department determines that the prisoner also meets the requirements of [MCL 791.234a(2) and MCL 791.234a(3)].” MCL 791.234a(4). “If the sentencing judge neither prohibited nor permitted a prisoner’s participation in the special alternative incarceration program in the judgment of sentence, and the department determines that the prisoner meets the eligibility requirements of [MCL 791.234a(2) and MCL 791.234a(3)], the department shall notify the judge or the judge’s successor, the prosecuting attorney for the county in which the prisoner was sentenced, and any victim of the crime for which the prisoner was committed if the victim has submitted to the department a written request for any notification under [MCL 780.769(1)] of the proposed placement of the prisoner in the special alternative incarceration unit.” MCL 791.234a(4). “The notices shall be sent not later than 30 days before placement is intended to occur.” Id.

“The department shall not place the prisoner in a special alternative incarceration unit unless the sentencing judge, or the judge’s successor, notifies the department, in writing, that he or she does not object to the proposed placement.” MCL 791.234a(4).

“In making the decision on whether or not to object, the judge, or judge’s successor, shall review any impact statement submitted under . . . MCL 780.764, by the victim or victims of the crime of which the prisoner was convicted.” MCL 791.234a(4).

The prisoner must consent to placement in an SAI unit, including the suspension or restriction of certain privileges generally afforded to prisoners. MCL 791.234a(5).

The prosecution waives objection to a defendant’s placement in an SAI program if it does not raise the issue at sentencing. People v Krim, 220 Mich App 314, 320-321 (1997).