Report: Massachusetts Prison Population Grew Over 200% Since 1980

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Kate Nagle, GoLocalWorcester News Contributor

Data on national incarceration statistics show that in Massachusetts, the prison population in the state has steadily increased since 1980 -- in total, by over 200%.

According to The Sentencing Project, which since 1986 has worked for a "fair and effective U.S. criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration," the Massachusetts prison population stood at 3150 in 1980, and peaked at 10,880 in 1996.

The number dipped as low as 8,688 in 2004, but as of 2011, was back above 10,000 -- and combined with the 12,619 in jails in the state, saw the total incarceration rate in Massachusetts stand at 22,935 for the year.

"We need to look at how these issues have become really charged," said Jamie Bissonette with the American Friends Service Committee of New England. "Oftentimes we get involved in a conversation that is not as pragmatic as it should be. Just looking at the numbers is not enough."

Click Here to See Slideshow of New England Prison Populations by State

The overall trend of growing prison populations has been even higher nationally, with the number in prison in the country in 1980 having stood at 315,974 -- and subsequently increasing to 1,537,415 in 2011.
In total with the nation's jail population, the United States is the world's leader in incarceration with 2.2 million people currently in the nation's prisons or jails, according to The Sentencing Project. -- a 500% increase over the past thirty years.

ACLU on the Record

"You could say that it's good in that [the numbers] dramatize the fact that we're incarcerating many more people that we did thirty years ago," said Ann Lambert with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. "The fact that we're over-incarcerating people is important for taxpayer and policy makers to be aware of. The human costs are huge."

"And I think that in Massachusetts, the "war on drugs" really sums it up," continued Lambert. "We think that repealing the mandatory minimum drug sentencing is an important start. We do know that the drug laws are enforced in communities of color that aren't enforced in suburban communities.

"I understand economic efficiency. We're serious about getting the legislature to understand the seriousness of this to repeal the mandatory sentences. The Department of Corrections understands that there need to be positive incentives such as the ability for earned good time."

"In general, I think the state's office of public safety is doing a great job," said Lambert. "Massachusetts is poised to make great gains in addressing criminal justice."

Racial Disparities Addressed

According to the most recent data as reported by The Sentencing Project, the white imprisonment rate per 100,000 in Massachusetts was 201 while the Hispanic imprisonment was 1,229 per 100,000 -- and black imprisonment rate was 1,635 per 100,000.

"From the late 90s to 2004...there was a concerted enough to deal with street violence in Boston in particular," said Bissonette. "There's been a leveling or decline in the growth of incarcerations since the the late 90s, but there are certain neighborhoods that are overrepresented...in terms of poverty rate, incarceration rate, preventative disease."

She continued, "Racial impact is huge...and is not generally well understood. People think if you commit crimes, you should go to jail. People don't realize the addiction rate pretty much the same across all ethnicities."

In April, GoLocalWorcester reported that based on the Project's findings, the Hispanic incarceration rate is the fourth highest in the U.S.

Bissonnette, who works with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action, is also Director of the Healing Justice Program.

"One of the things that Massachusetts has is a strong sentiment among civil society that prison reform is desirable," said Bissonette. "There's a plurality of people from a number of perspectives, especially the faith communities."

According to the Sentencing Project, the latest data for Massachusetts showed that over 17% of the prison population -- 1,760 inmates at last count -- were serving life sentences in prison, and more than half, 902, were life without parole. "We have more than 1 out of 4 inmates serving more than twenty years," said Bissonnette.

However, Bissonnette saw gains being made in the Massachusetts criminal justice system. "[Massachusetts] is trending towards balance....the balloon upwards in the 90s is reflective of Clinton-area laws as well as the advent of crack cocaine in the country. The growth in the prison population has leveled out some since then."

Still, gains could be made in addressing persistent disparities, according to Bissonette. "Very little analysis is done to look at the nexus between race, poverty, and criminal conviction," she said.