Criminal Justice
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Criminal Justice Reform in Massachusetts
A Five-Year Progress Assessment
January 24, 2024
- Five years since Massachusetts passed landmark criminal justice reform legislation, the state’s incarceration rate is the lowest in the country and another order of magnitude below the US average
- Preparing a master plan to highlight lingering issues, committing more deeply to evaluation, and increasing continuing care treatment capacity would build on past investments in recidivism reduction and crime prevention
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Our take on the end of the legislative session
August 16, 2022
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What to do with the state’s half-empty prison system
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.
March 23, 2022
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Correctional Officers Can Lead the Way Out of the Tough-on-Crime-Era
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.
February 25, 2021
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Refunding Corrections
Focusing on criminal justice information systems, MassINC and panel experts review efforts to increase transparency, improve data collection, and root out racial bias.
February 11, 2021
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Viewing Justice Reinvestment from a Correctional Officer’s Perspective
This paper highlights Massachusetts’s 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, state and local leaders can create healthier environments and more successful outcomes for the incarcerated population.
February 11, 2021
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Rooting Out Racial Bias
Focusing on criminal justice information systems, MassINC and panel experts review efforts to increase transparency, improve data collection, and root out racial bias.
February 5, 2021
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7th Annual Policy Summit in Pursuit of Justice
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.
December 29, 2020
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FY21 budget offers a beacon for Justice Reinvestment
The FY21 budget, which passed both branches last week, goes even further by creating a true “Justice Reinvestment” fund and capitalizing it with a $15 million appropriation. From job training and transitional employment to housing stabilization, a wide range of community-based programs are eligible for these resources.
December 14, 2020
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With prison populations halved, it’s time for a reinvestment strategy
All told, state and county correctional agencies maintain a complex of nearly 500 buildings with approximately 10 million square feet among them.
June 24, 2020