What is Justice Reinvestment without the “reinvestment”?

The MassCJRC Journal

The comprehensive criminal justice reform legislation up for debate this week in the Senate is a noteworthy achievement in every respect but one–its failure to take on the delicate subject of reinvestment. Criminal justice reform is largely about offering alternatives to incarceration and providing evidence-based programs to reduce recidivism for those returning from incarceration. These activities

Fighting for a More Just and Equitable Commonwealth

The MassCJRC Journal

June 2017 will be remembered as an important milestone for criminal justice reform in Massachusetts. After numerous commissions, taskforces, research reports, and independent analyses, legislators are looking at a bevy of seriously substantive criminal justice reform proposals. Those engaged in the long fight for comprehensive criminal justice reform should pause for a moment to reflect

Ben Forman offers testimony to Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary

In support of "An Act Implementing the Joint Recommendations of the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Review"

TESTIMONY REGARDING H. 74 “AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE JOINT RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS CRIMINAL JUSTICE REVIEW” PROVIDED TO THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY JUNE 19, 2017 Benjamin Forman MassINC Thank you Chairwoman Cronin, Chairman Brownsberger, and members of the committee for the opportunity to provide testimony on An Act Implementing the Joint Recommendations of

Ben Forman testifies before Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary

In support of “An Act For Justice Reinvestment”

Testimony Regarding H.2308/S.791  “An Act For Justice Reinvestment” Provided to the Joint Committee on The Judiciary  June 5, 2017 Benjamin Forman MassINC Thank you Chairman Brownsberger and Chairwoman Cronin for this opportunity to provide testimony in support of An Act for Justice Reinvestment on behalf of MassINC and the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. There

Finding Common Ground

Recapping the Fourth Annual Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Policy Summit

Finding Common Ground The Fourth Annual Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Policy Summit brought together over 300 leaders on Monday morning at the Omni Parker House in Boston. The program, entitled Finding Common Ground, featured a two-part conversation on reform and reinvestment, presentations of new polling (slides) and research, and remarks from a diverse group of thought leaders. Representative Katherine

Correctional Spending Soars While Prison Population Declines, According to New Report from MassINC

“Getting Tough on Spending” Report Shows Waste, Inefficiencies in Staffing

The report, Getting Tough on Spending, an 18 percent increase in spending for the Department of Correction and county sheriff departments between fiscal 2011 and 2016, while the prison population declined by almost 3,000 or 12 percent. The research further shows that this growth is focused primarily on raises and new hires for correctional officers,

BNN News Interviews MassINC Research Director, Ben Forman

To discuss latest research on the Geography of Incarceration

On Wednesday, November 16th MassINC Research Director, Ben Forman sat down with Christopher Lovett on Network Neighborhood News to discuss a new report from MassINC on the “geography of incarceration,” tracing its disproportionate effect on certain Boston neighborhoods and populations.

Mapping incarceration in Boston

Study finds minority neighborhoods burdened by high jail rates

A SWATH OF mostly minority Boston neighborhoods is so heavily affected by the criminal justice system that nearly every street has a resident who has spent time in jail, a concentration of incarceration that is costing millions of dollars and threatening the social fabric of neighborhoods already struggling with high rates of poverty and other

Checking the pulse on criminal justice reform

The MassCJRC Journal

 One after another last week the Sentencing Commission held a public hearing to gather input on ideas discussed in a closed session over the past year, the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) working group met to review the latest CSG analysis, and Justice Gants delivered his third state of the judiciary address. This burst of activity

Bringing community corrections into focus

The MassCJRC Journal

Over the summer months, we spent time with grassroots organizations working in neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by incarceration. These groups try their best to support justice-involved individuals and their families, but with very modest resources they only reach a small fraction of those who need services. A key consideration for the Justice Reinvestment conversation is how
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