New research finds wide racial and ethnic variation in cash bail in Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  A new study by the nonpartisan think tank MassINC shows large racial and ethnic disparities in the composition of defendants awaiting trial in jail. In Barnstable County, black defendants are overrepresented in the jail population relative to their share of the county’s general population by a factor of 10 to one. Out west in

Exploring the Potential for Pretrial Innovation in Massachusetts

Many states involved in Justice Reinvestment—a data-driven approach to reduce incarceration and increase public safety—have taken aim at the practice of holding defendants on cash bail. These efforts are backed by research that shows many defendants held in jail awaiting trial do not pose a serious risk. Keeping low-risk defendants out of jail allows states

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

Crime, Cost & Consequences

A Two Year Progress Report

In 2013, MassINC issued Crime, Cost, and Consequences, a comprehensive look at the performance of the state’s criminal justice system. At the Second Annual Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Summit, we issued this update. These new figures show steady progress in some areas, while other problems identified in the 2013 report continue to present stubborn

Ready for Reform?

Public Opinion on Criminal Justice in Massachusetts

This full report expands on the findings presented at MassINC’s Criminal Justice Summit with Gov. Patrick in February 2013. The research – a poll of Massachusetts residents and four focus groups, conducted by the non-partisan MassINC Polling Group – shows that Bay Staters want a criminal justice system that is effective at reducing crimes through

Drug courts work, but do they save money?

A new study published in the fall issue of the Journal of Criminal Justice looks at the effect of drug courts on confinement and finds that they reduce the incidence of jail stays by nearly half, and prison stays by more than one-third. Interestingly, however, drug courts did not reduce days spent in prison in

More evidence that prison education provides return on investment

Two new studies find positive effects from prison education. The first, a study of over 5,000 Florida inmates published in the October issue of the journal Crime & Delinquency, examined the impact of adult basic education (ABE) on post-release labor market success. The authors find that ABE participation is associated with higher levels of employment

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