INSIDE MICHIGAN/ A humane public-data project
142,592 · records  ·  520,719 · sentences
VOL. I · NO. 01 · A PUBLIC-DATA PROJECT

People,
not offenders.

Michigan public corrections records describe 142,592 lives behind a difficult legacy web form. Inside Michigan turns that public record into a humane research tool. Every figure you see comes from the public record. Every design choice is ours to make.

Updated 22 April 2026Coverage All 83 Michigan countiesSample 142,592 individuals · 520,719 sentencesPhotos Withheld by default
§ 01DashboardThe numbers at a glance§ 02LookupFind an individual record§ 03ReformThe confrontational view§ 04FlowPopulation flows & reform metrics§ 05MovementsAggregate facility changes§ 06Ask the DataAI over 520,719 sentences§ 07SupportKeep the work going
§ 05 — Support the work

Help keep the record human.

People Not Numbers is built around restraint: no mugshot spectacle by default, no official-government framing, and no conclusions that outrun the public data. Support pays for the slow work that keeps those defaults honest.

$10/mo

monthly support

Keeps the humane interface work moving: copy review, accessibility passes, and methodology notes.

Donate monthly

$25/mo

monthly support

Funds recurring data-quality work without turning the product into an ad surface.

Donate monthly

$100/mo

monthly support

Supports deeper reform pages, safer lookup defaults, and outside review of sensitive flows.

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What support buys

human defaults are operating costs
Safer publication

Reviewing lookup, indexing, and photo defaults so the interface informs without turning people into spectacle.

Methodology

Writing the plain-language notes that explain what the data can and cannot prove.

Reform tools

Turning aggregate data into county, sentence, and policy views people can actually use.

How it works

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Contributions are not presented as tax-deductible donations unless and until fiscal sponsor or nonprofit status is confirmed in writing.