Over the course of two sessions, will take a hard look at how to invest in dramatically different approaches to criminal justice with a shared sense of urgency and purpose.
Finding Better Ways to Allocate Limited Public Safety Resources
The MassCJRC Journal
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Massachusetts’s criminal justice reform legislation is arguably the most wide-ranging and comprehensive in the country, at least as far as progress in a single legislative session goes. However, unlike most states that have pursued comprehensive reform, our legislation was largely crafted without independent technical assistance from the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). One of the key
Correctional spending and the elusive criminal justice reform dividend in Massachusetts
Ben Forman sits down with BNN
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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
Major justice reform bill clears Legislature
Signals shift in focus from punishment toward rehabilitation and substance use treatment
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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
Refusing to Remain #StuckOnReplay
The MassCJRC Journal
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On July 13th, the community came together to deliver a clear message: Massachusetts can no longer delay; we need comprehensive criminal justice reform. The gathering, entitled The Fierce Urgency Of Now, Or Else #StuckOnReplay, drew hundreds of individuals, advocates, and community leaders to Dudley Square to share stories and issue a passionate call for change. The program
Steve Koczela offers testimony to Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary
On the results of polls and focus groups conducted by MPG
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My name is Steve Koczela, and I am the president of The MassINC Polling Group. I am here today to testify on the results of polls and focus groups we have conducted on criminal justice reform, spanning 2014 to April and May of this year. The polls and focus groups were sponsored by our parent
Fact-checking the district attorneys
MassINC researchers review mandatory minimum claims
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AT MONDAY’S JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARING on criminal justice reform legislation, District Attorneys Joseph Early of Worcester County, Timothy Cruz of Plymouth County, and Michael Morrissey of Norfolk County testified in opposition to the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes. Their testimony drew heavily on talking points prepared by the Massachusetts District Attorney’s Association
Mapping incarceration in Boston
Study finds minority neighborhoods burdened by high jail rates
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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
MassINC unveils new report on criminal justice public opinion
View/download the full report (PDF) View/download the poll crosstabs (PDF) Massachusetts residents support reforming the criminal justice system to send fewer people to prison, and overwhelmingly (85 percent) support a package of reforms similar to those enacted in other states. In fact, most see the current prison system as a contributor to crime rather than