State House hearing on mandatory minimums

Tuesday’s State House hearing on mandatory minimums showed signs of the beginning of a robust dialogue at the state legislative level on comprehensive criminal justice reform. Massachusetts Supreme Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants, echoing remarks he gave at the CJRC’s annual event in March, opened the hearing in staunch opposition to mandatory minimum sentencing. The model disproportionately

Eliminating mandatory minimums

The view from the community

As the debate on repealing mandatory minimums unfolds, a key question is how do residents in communities most impacted by crime feel about a change in course? To gain this perspective, MassINC’s2014 poll included a sample of 10 communities representing half of all releases from state prisons. Residents in these high-release areas were more likely

Massachusetts incarceration rate is cause for concern

Recent focus on corrections reform has drawn attention to the state’s relatively low incarceration rate. In national data, Massachusetts’s incarceration rate appears slightly low because more offenders are held in county jails and fewer are held in state prison facilities. Adjusting for this policy is difficult. The federal government has not released  state jail population

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MASSINC’S TESTIMONY BEFORE THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY REGARDING COMPREHENSIVE CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Winthrop Roosevelt wroosevelt@massinc.org (617) 224-1625 Testimony Regarding Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform In Massachusetts Provided to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary June 9, 2015 Benjamin Forman MassINC Thank you Chairman Brownsberger, Chairman Fernandes and members of the committee for an opportunity to share some ideas on comprehensive criminal justice reform at

Gateway Cities Innovation Institute applauds Boston 2024 Selection of New Bedford to Host Sailing

PRESS STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Winthrop Roosevelt wroosevelt@massinc.org (617) 224-1625 Statement: Gateway Cities Innovation Institute Applauds Boston 2024 selection of New Bedford to Host Sailing The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute applauds Boston 2024 for revising their initial bid for the Olympic Games to include New Bedford as the venue for the sailing competition. Locating the Olympic

Financing Education Reform

The Next Chapter

The Building on What Works Coalition  released a  white paper this week that looks at creative new ways to invest in the learning models of the future. As leaders on Beacon Hill solidify budget priorities for the next fiscal year, the paper explores near-term steps that could be taken in the FY 2016 budget to pave the

What does the health economy mean for Gateway Cities?

First in a series of three blogs on the state’s changing regional economies Looking at the economic recovery of Gateway Cities through the lens of job growth, it appears that the state’s regional cities have regained lost ground. But growth in total employment obscures more fundamental change in the base of Gateway City economies. Gateway

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