THE STATE MUST confront racial disparities in imprisonment rates and move to “reimagine” a flawed criminal justice system to focus less on incarceration and more on lowering recidivism, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants said on Thursday. Delivering his third annual address on the state of the judiciary since becoming the Commonwealth’s top judge,
Justice Reinvestment At-A-Glance
Community Corrections
This Justice Reinvestment At-a-Glance report examines community corrections. Community corrections is an enhanced form of probation. Instead of incarceration, individuals are sentenced to intensive services and supervision in the community. The data presented here show that—among individuals in Massachusetts convicted for offenses where community corrections may be appropriate—very few receive this alternative to incarceration.
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
Doing our job
The MassCJRC Journal
Jimmy G. epitomized the “do your job” mantra when he took to the field Sunday night amid the bright lights and fan noise and executed. For all of those who have worked equally tirelessly over the last decade or more to advance criminal justice reform, the moment to channel Garoppolo and the Patriots is quickly approaching —
Supporting our police officers on criminal justice reform
The MassCJRC Journal
The latest incidents of tragic violence in communities of color across the county have drawn greater attention to criminal justice reform. The public increasingly recognizes that we are asking too much of our police when we send them into neighborhoods torn apart by decades of disinvestment, racial discrimination, illegal drugs, and the proliferation of guns.
New CSG data provide important insights on young adult justice
The Council of State Governments Justice reinvestment team convened the working group for a third meeting this week. Their presentation focused on recidivism with particular attention to pretrial decision-making, incarcerated populations, and programming within HOC institutions. The CSG also provided an addendum with additional slides. A couple of thoughts based on the data and reactions from the
Expunging juvenile records
The MassCJRC Journal
A who’s who crowd of criminal justice leaders gathered at the Seaport Hotel on Monday for the annual fundraising breakfast for the Chelsea-based nonprofit Roca, which works to steer high-risk young people toward positive pursuits. Addressing the audience, Gov. Charlie Baker reflected on recent efforts to increase prison education-a practice that has long been understood to
Unpacking the story behind the data
The MassCJRC Journal
The Council on State Governments Justice Reinvestment working group assembled on Tuesday for their second formal meeting. CSG presented new data focused largely on sentencing. The conversation centered heavily around recidivism, with the CSG analysts providing figures that show repeat offenders represent three-quarters of new convictions in Massachusetts, a finding consistent with previous MassINC research. To
MassINC shares findings from pretrial research at legislative briefing
On April 5th, the Harm Reduction Caucus, the Progressive Caucuses, the Black and Latino Caucus, and the Women’s Caucus Taskforce on Justice Involved Women co-hosted a legislative briefing on efforts to improve the pretrial process in Massachusetts. Commissioner Dolan and Chief Justice Dawley provided updates on work at the Probation Department and the Trial Court,
Highlights from The Third Annual Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Policy Summit
The MassCJRC Journal
Last Friday, over 200 leaders gathered for the Third Annual Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Policy Summit. Kevin Burke, a coalition co-chair and former Secretary of Public Safety, kicked off the summit by noting that this year’s convening held special significance. Massachusetts is entering a crucial phase of reform with the Council of State Governments conducting a