As the House gathers testimony on a policing reform bill passed earlier this week by the Senate, S.2820, some immigrant and worker groups are calling for the legislation to add language to grant driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. Service Employees International Union 32BJ, Brazilian Workers Center, and Pioneer Valley Workers Center plan to rally today in […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
Collins faces heat over vote on policing reform bill
WHEN THE VOTE finally came in the wee hours of Tuesday morning on a vigorously debated police reform bill, the measure easily cleared the state Senate by a 30-7 margin. But one dissenting vote stood out on legislation prompted by a nationwide surge of attention to the issue of police brutality toward black Americans. Sen. Nick […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate passes police reform bill in marathon session
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE SENATE OVERCAME a difficult rollout and several false starts to pass a far-reaching reform of policing in Massachusetts on Tuesday that would ban chokeholds, limit the use of tear gas, license all law enforcement officers and train them in the history of racism. The vote in the upper chamber now […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate must not back down on police reform bill
THE POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY and racial justice legislation being debated by the state Senate has been held up over several days by a few, with loud voices, who feel that it goes too far in upsetting the status quo. I would argue, however, that the status quo has the potential to usher in further loss […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Here’s how we can build better police departments
PROTEST MARCHES AND disturbing headlines on officer practices have cast a harsh spotlight on US police departments. As painful as recent events have been, this is also an opportunity for community residents, police, elected officials, and other stakeholders to talk with one another candidly about the fundamental principles of policing itself. One ideal we must […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate deliberations on policing reform bill stall
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A FAR-REACHING proposal to enhance oversight of police officers and ban the use of certain types of force hit a bump on Thursday when Senate Republicans blocked a vote on the reform bill, delaying action on an issue that has become a priority for Democratic leaders and Gov. Charlie Baker. The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Markey, Kennedy visit jail, address criminal justice concerns
BY THE TIME someone gets to jail, in many cases, there are myriad societal problems that led them there – and those need to be addressed. That was the premise voiced by US Sen. Ed Markey and his challenger in the Democratic primary for Senate, US Rep. Joe Kennedy, in back-to-back question and answer sessions […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate prepping its own police reform bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE plans to vote Thursday on a wide-ranging police reform bill that would create a process for certifying and de-certifying officers and impose new limits on the use of force, including a ban on chokeholds and restrictions on the use of tear gas. The bill, outlined at a Monday […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Voters now agree with Warren
IN AUGUST 2018, Sen. Elizabeth Warren gave a speech in which she delivered what she called “the hard truth about our criminal justice system.” According to Warren, the criminal justice system is “racist…I mean front to back.” At the time, her comments seemed daring and controversial, and they set off a firestorm of criticism from […]
Posted inOpinion
To address juvenile injustice, data needed
IN THE WAKE of the nationwide uprisings asserting that Black Lives Matter, there have been many eloquent pronouncements denouncing racism and pledging to do more to address its impact. The seven justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a strongly worded statement committing to “root out any conscious and unconscious bias in our courtrooms.” […]