Making sense of correctional spending 

MASSACHUSETTS SPENDS MORE than $1 billion a year to incarcerate roughly 13,000 people in its state prisons and county houses of correction, but a lot of the details of that spending are shrouded in mystery and uncertainty. 

As part of the recent wave of attention to criminal justice reform, the Legislature recently formed a special commission to try to make sense of correctional spending in the state. The call for a commission was driven by a steep drop in the state’s inmate population – the total is now roughly half the peak of recent decades – that has occurred with no corresponding reduction in corrections spending. Meanwhile, per inmate spending varies widely among the state’s 14 sheriffs who oversee houses of correction, and there is widespread concern among those outside the system that inmates are not receiving adequate rehabilitative services while behind bars. 

A big takeaway from the commission’s recently issued report, said its two co-chairs, Sen. Will Brownsberger and Rep. Michael Day, on this week’s Codcast, is the need for much clearer information on spending and inmate programming in order to assess what changes are needed. 

The overall “opaqueness” of funding issues was the foremost concern, said Brownsberger, a Belmont Democrat.

Annual per-inmate spending varied from about $100,000 in Berkshire County’s system to roughly half that amount in Essex and Bristol counties. Although many county systems are currently operating at less than half their design or rated capacity, Brownsberger and Day said there needs to be more granular scrutiny of facilities to determine whether that rated capacity is actually the right target or whether current thinking on corrections would argue for more space than in the past. 

The commission said there is currently no clear definition of what constitutes “evidence-based” programming, making it difficult to assess whether spending is going to programs with a clear track record of helping reduce recidivism or other outcomes. What’s more, the reported rates of conditions for which programming is targeted, such as mental illness and substance abuse disorder, vary so widely that it seems clear that sheriffs are using different measurement criteria. Franklin County, for example, reported that 90 percent of its inmates suffer from serious mental illness issues, while Barnstable and Bristol counties pegged that rate at under 20 percent among inmates in their facilities. 

“That’s part of the frustration,” said Day. “We’ve got to have a common agreed upon set of definitions as classifications. And then we can figure out what programming slots into what area.” 

The commission found a huge variation in spending on inmate programming, ranging from more than $7,000 per inmate annually in Berkshire County to just $1,000 a year in Bristol County. 

“It shouldn’t be as wide as it is,” said Brownsberger. “I think there’s some very good things happening in many sheriffs’ facilities, but we don’t have confidence that that’s happening across the state.” Though the commission did not reach consensus on the issue, Brownsberger said he and some members have “a strong instinct” to have inmate programming overseen by a statewide office, something that may get attention “legislatively” in the months to come. 

Brownsberger and Day said the Legislature will be working with the state Department of Correction and county sheriffs to streamline and come up with uniform measures for the whole range of variables that impact corrections spending. 

“Mike and I are both really committed to making sure that we follow through,” Brownsberger said of his and Day’s resolve to untangle all the issues around correctional spending and then recommend changes they think make sense. 

FROM COMMONWEALTH

Sponsored content: Scientists object to their inclusion in Philip Morris “sponsored content” in the Boston Globe promoting the company’s smokeless tobacco product. A number of researchers say they didn’t realize they were being interviewed for ad copy. Read more.

T ridership up: MBTA ridership is rebounding, particularly on commuter rail, where passenger traffic has risen quickly over the last three months. Read more.

OPINION

Let us expand: Mass General Brigham keeps up pressure for regulatory approval of its expansion plans, as the presidents of Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital say they are being forced to turn away many patients seeking care. Read more.

Lower the fares: Corinne Thomas, a student at Brandeis University, points out that more MBTA diversions are coming in the wake of the partial collapse of the Government Center Garage and the death of a construction worker – and all residents of Boston should enjoy lower Zone 1A fares on the commuter rail system. Read more.

Fiscal musical chairs: The MBTA should not be playing fiscal musical chairs. If the transit authority needs capital funding, the Legislature should provide it, and not force the T to pay for projects out of its operating budget. Read more.

Do the right thing, Moderna: Sen. Jamie Eldridge says Moderna should share its vaccine, developed with enormous help from US taxpayers, with the developing world. Read more.

Crypto suggestion: Adam Kovacevich of the Chamber of Progress says the US needs to get regulation of crypto currencies right or risk losing a tech edge. Read more.

Principal pipeline: Leah Hamilton of the Barr Foundation and Elina Alayeva of Springpoint Schools have ideas for fixing the broken principal pipeline. Read more.

Flood insurance: Bill Martin of Plymouth Rock Assurance offers homeowners some advice: Get educated about flood insurance. Read more.

Gas tax suspension: James Aloisi of TransitMatters says the proposals to suspend the state’s gas tax make no sense. Read more.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

BEACON HILL

State Sen. Becca Rausch of Needham has faced a torrent of in-person and online vitriol targeting her positions on vaccines and mask mandates for children, but experts say sexism and antisemitism are driving forces behind the fury singling out pols like Rausch. (Boston Globe)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS  

Multiple floors of Boston’s Government Center Garage came down after a crane collapsed. One worker was killed and the MBTA halted service on the Green and Orange lines to determine whether the tunnels going under the garage are safe. (WBUR)

The Globe publishes a lengthy story detailing – and knocking down – rumors that Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was rushed by ambulance to a hospital sometime since taking office because of a panic attack or attacks brought on by the pressure of her job. 

The Herald says Wu has courted controversy by taking on multiple hot-button issues. “I do what’s right,” she told the paper. 

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country might be open to declaring neutrality and end any aspirations of joining NATO as part of a peace agreement with Russia. (Washington Post) 

ELECTIONS

The Atlantic looks at what Gov. Baker’s decision not to run again means for one-party rule in Massachusetts. 

The three Democrats running for attorney general aired some differences on issues, including charter schools and qualified immunity for police, at a forum sponsored by the advocacy group Progressive Massachusetts. (Boston Herald) 

Chicopee City Councilor Joel McAuliffe becomes the third candidate to announce a run for state representative to replace retiring representative Joseph Wagner. (MassLive)

EDUCATION

The Danvers NAACP asks for a police sergeant who used to coach the school hockey team that was accused of racist and sexist behavior to be removed from his position overseeing school resource officers. (Eagle-Tribune)

With the federal government’s program providing universal free school meals coming to an end this year, advocates are urging state officials to extend the program using state money and continue providing free school meals to all students. (Boston University Statehouse Program)

ARTS/CULTURE

A message in a bottle thrown overboard by the crew of a Gloucester-based fishing boat near Puerto Rico is discovered in France 27 years later. (Gloucester Daily Times)

CODA, the story of a Gloucester fishing family whose daughter is torn between pursuing a singing career and remaining home to act as an interpreter for deaf family members, wins three Oscars. (Gloucester Daily Times)

US Rep. Ayanna Pressley posted – and then deleted – a tweet praising actor Will Smith’s slap of comedian Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. (MassLive)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

The Massachusetts Trial Court, facing pressure from US Attorney Rachael Rollins, agrees to stop pressuring drug court defendants to take Vivitrol for opioid use disorder. “Judges are experts, but they are not doctors,” said Rollins. (GBH)

The Boston Police Department saw the biggest drop in  a decade last year in overtime spending. (Boston Globe) 

The Springfield Republican profiles Charles “Heavy” Stokes, a former chronic criminal and drug addict who is now a community activist and street minister in Springfield. 

MEDIA

PASSINGSAngela O’Connor, the former head of the New England Power Generators Association and the chair of the Department of Public Utilities, dies at 64.