Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Stan Rosenberg, House
Speaker Robert DeLeo, and Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice
Ralph Gants, along with the Council of State Governments (CSG)
Justice Center released a report on Feb. 21 which, along with
related legislation, outlines ways in which Massachusetts can
enhance public safety, avoid nearly $10 million in projected
corrections costs by 2023 and accelerate further reduction of its
incarcerated population.
Compared to other states, Massachusetts has a relatively low
overall incarceration rate. However, there remains room for
improvement. Two-thirds of those released from Houses of Correction
and more than half of those released from the Department of
Correction recidivate within three years. With corrections spending
over a billion dollars per year the Governor, the Speaker, the
Senate President, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial
Court requested that the Council of State Governments Justice
Center conduct a data driven analysis to assist in the development
of recommendations to reduce recidivism, improve public safety and
generate savings.
A bipartisan, inter-branch steering committee and working group
were established to support this work. Between January 2016 and
January 2017, the 25-member working group met six times, and its
five-member steering committee met seven times to review analyses
conducted by the CSG Justice Center and discuss policy options. In
assisting the working group and steering committee, CSG Justice
Center staff analyzed more than 13 million state records, conducted
more than 300 in-person meetings, and helped craft research-backed
policy options to address the state's criminal justice system
challenges.
To that end, policy options outlined in the CSG Justice Center's
report reflect a three-pronged strategy including legislative,
administrative and budgetary actions that each branch of government
will take to help reduce recidivism within the commonwealth. These
actions will incentivize participation and expand access to pre-
and post-release programming, strengthen post-release supervision,
streamline the parole release process and improve and standardize
data collection and performance monitoring across the criminal
justice system. Actions include a commitment to increased funding
for substance use and work training programming, enhancing
post-release supervision, and expanding access to earned good time
credits for completing recidivism-reduction programs during
incarceration.
"Massachusetts should be proud that our prison population has
declined by 1,300 inmates over the last two years, leaving us with
one of the lowest incarceration rates in the country," said Gov.
Charlie Baker. "However, we must focus on addressing recidivism by
providing opportunities for certain prisoners who are willing to
help themselves and participate in programs like workforce skills
training opportunities that put them on the path to being
productive members of society once their sentence is served."
"The steering committee, co-chairs, and working group used their
deep experience and unique perspectives to work with the CSG
Justice Center to produce this informative report," said Lieutenant
Governor Karyn Polito. "We look forward to continuing our exchange
of ideas with all stakeholders and implementing important reforms
on criminal justice."
"Thank you to the CSG Justice Center and everyone who put so much
time and effort into this report," said Senate President Stan
Rosenberg (D-Amherst). "It will help inform our work on Criminal
Justice Reform this session. We will incorporate its findings into
what I hope will be real substantive changes to the entire range of
issues facing our criminal justice system that will reduce
recidivism, improve public safety, and generate savings."
"I thank the CSG Justice Center and the Working Group for their
detailed analysis and thoughtful recommendations," said Speaker
Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop.) "By taking an encompassing approach that
includes legislative, administrative and funding components, I
believe that we can make lasting change. I am particularly invested
in ensuring that support programming -- for example job training,
substance addiction programs, and help securing housing - is of the
highest quality."
"I am grateful for the hard work and perseverance of the CSG and
the Working Group, as well as the leadership and teamwork of my
steering committee colleagues -- Governor Baker, Lieutenant
Governor Polito, President Rosenberg and Speaker DeLeo," said
Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants. "The resulting
report and legislative policy proposals highlight the need for a
comprehensive approach to reducing recidivism that combines an
individualized focus on a defendant's risk, needs, and responsivity
to programs; increased access to and incentives for education, job
training, and treatment programs for defendants both in prison and
during post-release supervision; and a recognition of the
importance of facilitating a defendant's reintegration into
society. By examining these issues, the CSG project has enabled us
to take a step forward in reforming our criminal justice system and
created a springboard for further reforms"
The justice reinvestment process began in August 2015 when leaders
from all three branches of government officially requested
intensive technical assistance from the CSG Justice Center with the
support from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the U.S. Department of
Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance. Twenty-six states have
successfully used the justice reinvestment approach to date,
including Idaho, North Carolina and West Virginia.
To read the full report, click
here.