Norfolk DA touts incarceration rates, says Mass. a leader in 'innovative' alternatives

Massachusetts continues to imprison fewer people than any other state – often by a substantial margin.

After dropping to 50th among the states in per-capita imprisonment before the landmark Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2018, the commonwealth’s legislators, judges, police, and district attorneys have continued to innovate ways to protect public safety without turning to mass incarceration.

Our Department of Correction publicizes its incarceration numbers, including historical data. Since January 1, 2013, the number of people in Massachusetts prisons has decreased by 45% – from 11,403 in 2013 to 6,236 at the beginning of 2022. That works out to 96 prisoners per 100,000 people in 2022.

The population, as of March 20, had dropped to 5,896. Just a year ago, the Department of Correction announced that the falling numbers mean it can close the sprawling MCI-Cedar Junction facility in Walpole.

For perspective, we imprison less than a fifth as many citizens per capita as Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Less than a quarter as many as Arizona, Idaho, Texas, Georgia and Kentucky. And less than a third as many as 15 others and the U.S. overall, where there are 350 prisoners per 100,000.

Advocates argue against mass incarceration

Thoughtful voices, like those of Khaliah Ali and Jason Flom in the March 18 opinion piece “A war on us," argue that over-incarceration – particularly for drug crimes – has become a failed war on the population. Others posit that the destabilization of families − and, by extension, communities − that comes as a result of incarceration hurts public safety in the aggregate by increasing the desperation and alienation that can foster criminal activity.

Opposing voices believe that more incarceration and longer sentences mean safer streets – that “tough on crime” works and social interventions are feel-good nonsense.

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The violent crime data for each state, collected annually by the FBI, can be compared over time. Doing so largely settles the debate on what impact being “smart” on crime instead of “tough” on crime has had: The Massachusetts prison population has been cut by 45%; the violent crime rate has fallen by 24%.

Firefighters know that pouring water on the visible flame is not the only step in extinguishing a structure fire. They often have to dig into the walls of a building to extinguish the hidden roots of a fire – or be called back when the underlying causes rekindle.

Fighting crime in the aggregate has some similarities. But the fire in the walls of society is too often addiction, lack of access to mental health treatment, destructive beliefs about interpersonal relationships, the distortions of mind that come with various adverse experiences and recidivism.

In Norfolk County, prison alternatives play a large part in justice

In the Norfolk District, where I serve as district attorney, we have partnered with the Trial Court to provide Drug Court, Domestic Violence Court and Mental Health Court sessions in Quincy, and New England’s first Veterans Court session in Dedham.

When now-Congressman Bill Keating was Norfolk County district attorney, this office secured a state grant to embed a mental health clinician with the Quincy Police Department – among the first communities to take that step. Fifteen years later, that practice has expanded across the state, including smaller communities pairing up to split the services of a clinician to help guide people in crisis safely to treatment – before crisis behavior becomes criminal and leads to a cell.

As a young state representative in 1981, I voted with the majority of the Legislature to establish a right for those charged with a simple drug offense to request a substance use disorder evaluation and appropriate treatment – delaying court activity until help was obtained, and sometimes providing eventual dismissal.

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In their opinion piece, Ali and Flom write that the national mass incarceration problem has been “in large part” due to the “War on Drugs.” In Massachusetts, the Department of Correction tracks detainees by the “governing” (or lead) offense that has led to their incarceration. In 2022, just 8.7% of Massachusetts prison inmates had a drug crime as a governing offense. Our Legislature, judges and prosecutors lean heavily toward treating substance use disorder as an illness and seeking treatment over punishment.

I inherited a thoughtful juvenile diversion program from my predecessor as district attorney, allowing nonviolent young offenders to face consequences for their actions without being saddled with a criminal record. Early in my term, I expanded this program – and the supervision and structure it entails – to include young adults into their 20s.

Lowering prison population a group effort

If we want to perpetuate the twin trends of Massachusetts prison population decreasing while violent crime also decreases, citizens need to support legislators who understand that solving complex problems requires more than incarceration. It requires investing in re-entry programs that support people coming out of jails and prisons as they try to reestablish housing and professional activities. It means supporting an increase in affordable housing in every town.

District attorneys and our police partners cannot succeed without the partnership of those we are sworn to protect and serve. Preventing the crises, situations and problems that lead to crime starts in our schools, in our homes, in our communities and at the ballot box.

Massachusetts’ great success in escaping the facile trap of mass incarceration is, in a very real sense, as much a credit to our educated and enlightened voters as it is to the assistant district attorneys I send to court or the judges who pass sentences. There will always be murder and other crimes that merit incarceration, but Massachusetts is proving that there are some problems that incarceration does not constructively address.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Norfolk district attorney talks mental health, prison, recidivism