LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Partakers is a co-founder of the SMART on Crime Coalition, a group of organizations who work together in an effort to advance change in the Massachusetts criminal justice system so that it will more equitably reflect the interests of all Massachusetts residents. Toward that end, each legislative session, the coalition selects key issues and bills that it targets for support.  Members from the coalition, and constituents representing each, testify before committees from the House and Senate who have the authority to move these bills to a vote.  They also coordinate on-site meetings with representatives and senators from constituent districts as well as letter writing and telephone campaigns.  

The Coalition's focus for the 2009 - 2010 legislative session is:

1) Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Reform and 2) Diversion to Treatment.  As in the past, the Coalition will also work closely with other organizations whose focus is on CORI reform and issues pursuant to public safety.  

Bills for the 2009 - 2010 legislative session have been assigned numbers. Partakers (and the SMART on Crime Coalition) have strategized about which bills specific to the issues it will focus on for this session.

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Reform:

• Repeal mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses.  The courts could instead impose the sentence that best fits the crime; 
• Allow judges to impose the same kind of sentence used for most other crimes: a minimum and maximum term of incarceration (e.g., 5 to 7 years) based on the facts of each case;
• Allow judges to order probation for a drug offense, when appropriate;
• Let drug offenders take part in work release programs like most other prisoners.  Work release programs prepare prisoners for the job market when they are released;
• Let drug offenders earn "good conduct credits ("good time") by taking part in educational, vocational or rehab programs.  This encourages offenders to make good use of theri time while in prison;
• Let drug offenders apply for parole, like most other prisoners.  State prisoners could apply after serving two-thirds of their minimum sentences.  House of Correction prisoners could apply after serving one-half of their minimum sentences.  Parole provides a critical period of supervisioni during the transition from prison to community, which benefits both the public and the ex-offender.

• Reduce the size of school zones from 1,000 to 100 feet, the same as for parks and playgroounds.  School zones will then better serve their purpose to protect children;
• Exclude from the law those drug sales that occur at homes within the school zone, although the drug offense itself would still be illegal;
• Repeal the mandatory minimum sentence for school zone offenses.  Courts could instead impose the sentence that best fits the crime, including lengthy sentences when appropriate;
• Allow judges to impose the same kind of sentence used for most other crimes: a minimum and maximum term of incarceration (e.g.,  5 to 7 years), based on the facts of each case;
• Allow a school zone sentence to be served at the same time ("concurrently") as the sentence for the underlying drug offense;
• Allow judges to order probation for the school zone offense, when appropriate; 
• Let school zone offenders "good conduct credits ("good time") by taking part in educational, vocational or rehab programs.  This encourages offenders to make good use of theri time while in prison; "good conduct credits ("good time") by taking part in educational, vocational or rehab programs.  This encourages offenders to make good use of their time while in prison; 
• Let school zone offenders take part in work release programs like most other prisoners,  which prepare prisoners for the job market when they are released; 
• Let school zone offenders apply for parole, like most other prisoners.  State prisoners could apply after serving two-thirds of their minimum sentences.  House of Correction prisoners could apply after serving one-half of their minimum sentences.  Parole provides a critical period of supervisioni during the transition from prison to community, which benefits both the public and the ex-offender.  

• Drug offenders made up less than 7% of all new commitments to Houses of Correction and State Prisons in 1980, but now represent almost a quarter of all new commitments. Possession offenders make up almost 40% of all drug offenders sentenced to incarceration annually.
• Incarcerating individuals for low-level drug offenses is more expensive than providing treatment, and is often the first step in a cycle of addiction and criminal justice involvement for such offenders. Offering treatment to low-level offenders not only decreasing corrections expenditures in the short term, but also decreases recidivism in the long term.
• Diversion to treatment seeks to address this problem by offering offenders the opportunity to complete a treatment episode in lieu of incarceration.  In the event that offenders successfully complete the treatment episode, their case would be dismissed- avoiding the conviction that often leads to problems finding housing and employment.
• This bill does not make any radical changes to existing law. In fact, it merely modifies the diversion program that was enacted in 1981 but is deeply flawed. H. 1962 is a fix it bill that would:   a) allow courts to use professionals other than doctors and psychiatrists to determine the drug dependant status of defendants including nurses, licensed clinical social workers or persons certified by the state; b) Expand the administrative definitions this program can be overseen by - the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services rather than the Department of Drug Dependence, which does not exist; c) mandate that treatment is offered for a small, well defined population of first and second time low-level offenders not involved in a concurrent offense; d) ensure that those who successfully complete treatment will not have a conviction on their records;
• Although in some cases low-level offenders are sentenced to treatment rather than jail, this practice varies greatly between jurisdictions and across the state. H. 1962 would create a uniform state-wide diversion policy, enabling advocates and state officials to effectively track the success of the program and support the development of state-wide best practices.
• Other states that have enacted such policies have seen an increase in substance abuse services, a decrease in jail populations, and an increase in public safety.

Our partner organization (and a member of the SMART on Crime Coalition) - the Criminal Justice Policy Coalition - has posted all of the new criminal justice-related bills on its website (www.cjpc.org).  Please reference this site to review these bills.  

SMART on Crime Coalition Members:

 

Criminal Justice Policy Coalition

Families Against Mandatory Minimums

League of Women Voters of Massachusets

Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR)

National Association of Social Workers - Massachusetts Chapter

New England Policy Advocates

Partakers, Inc.

 

PUBLIC EDUCATION RESOURCES

Partakers has also compiled the following educational resources for volunteers who are interested in increasing public awareness of criminal justice issues in their congregations or the broader community. 

• Books
• Films
• Internet Resources