What to do with the state’s half-empty prison system

Ben Forman featured in CommonWealth Magazine

Policy Center Press Coverage
Mar 23, 2022 Policy Center Press Coverage

Prison populations have fallen sharply and crime remains low in Massachusetts. Ben Forman asks what to do with the state’s half-empty prison system in CommonWealth op-ed.

Correctional Officers Can Lead the Way Out of the Tough-on-Crime-Era

Report argues steep drop in incarceration positions frontlines workers to provide rehabilitation

Policy Center
Feb 25, 2021 Policy Center

Massachusetts has an unprecedented opportunity to make better use of limited public safety resources by reducing the incarcerated population and reinventing correctional practices with more leadership and direction from those on the frontlines.

With prison populations halved, it’s time for a reinvestment strategy

Jun 24, 2020

All told, state and county correctional agencies maintain a complex of nearly 500 buildings with approximately 10 million square feet among them.

Correctional spending and the elusive criminal justice reform dividend in Massachusetts

Ben Forman sits down with BNN

Policy Center
May 31, 2018 Policy Center

Ben Forman of MassINC talks about our latest report on “correctional spending and the elusive criminal justice reform dividend in Massachusetts: while incarceration is down, there’s little sign of money being freed up for new efforts to decrease recidivism.” – Chris Lovett, BNN News Director

Devin McCourty tackles criminal justice reform

New England Patriots co-captain sits down with CommonWealth magazine to discuss his platform for change

Civic Journal
May 24, 2018 Civic Journal

When New England Patriots co-captain Devin McCourty joined the protests first set off by Colin Kaepernick and “took a knee” during the National Anthem last season, he was making a statement about racial justice issues in the country and the treatment of blacks by law enforcement officials. President Trump quickly “hijacked” the issue, McCourty says

New MassINC study finds the number of inmates in state and county correctional facilities keeps falling, but correctional budgets are still going up in Massachusetts

Policy Center Press Release
May 21, 2018 Policy Center Press Release

New research from the nonpartisan think MassINC shows correctional budgets are still rising even as the number of individuals in state and county correctional facilities falls precipitously. These revealing new figures come as leaders on Beacon Hill look for ways to help agencies cover the costs they will incur in order to comply with legislation

Criminal justice bill reaches finish line

Baker signs comprehensive legislation, while signaling concern with parts of it

Civic Journal
Apr 15, 2018 Civic Journal

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed sweeping criminal justice legislation on Friday, capping several years of discussion on Beacon Hill and casting Massachusetts squarely in the national wave of rethinking tough-on-crime laws of the 1980s and 90s. Flanked at the State House by more than a dozen lawmakers from both parties, Baker said, “Viewed as a whole,

State follows voters’ lead on criminal justice

The Topline

Polling Group
Apr 6, 2018 Polling Group

The Senate and House sent a sweeping criminal justice reform bill to Governor Charlie Baker’s desk this week. The Governor has not said how he will proceed. Details matter, and there are a lot of them to parse, but the overall thrust of the bill is very much in keeping with what voters have said

Major justice reform bill clears Legislature

Signals shift in focus from punishment toward rehabilitation and substance use treatment

Civic Journal
Apr 4, 2018 Civic Journal

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH ONLY A WHIFF of opposition, the Massachusetts Legislature on Wednesday passed a broad package of criminal justice system reforms that have languished for years, signaling a likely shift in focus away from punishment and toward rehabilitation and substance use treatment in an effort to reduce recidivism. The legislation (S 2371), which

Patriots make a big play on criminal justice reform

The MassCJRC Journal

Policy Center
Feb 7, 2018 Policy Center

While the final score of Super Bowl LII left us with heartbreak, the team made one play last week that may give us an even more significant victory. In a Boston Globe op-ed that ran Sunday morning, team leadership took a clear stance on criminal justice reform, writing: “We strongly support the proposal being considered by the Massachusetts