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 […]
Criminal Justice
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 […]
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 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
As Massachusetts reopens, prisoners remain isolated
AS MUCH OF MASSACHUSETTS continues to reopen, the same loosening of restrictions is not present at the state’s prisons. Many inmates continue to live in lockdown-like conditions, as the Department […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Substance use treatment changing at Plymouth prison
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is removing correctional officers and expanding treatment programming at the troubled prison facility in Plymouth used to treat men civilly committed for substance use. The shift in […]
Posted inOpinion
The phrase ‘criminal justice system’ has to go
IT IS BECOMING increasingly clear that we, as a nation, have arrived at a crossroads. Between the coronavirus and the private and state-sanctioned lynchings of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd sandwiched […]
Posted inOpinion
In police licensing, the details matter
THE POLICE KILLINGS of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and other black people have brought renewed, international attention to racism in law enforcement. Thankfully, Massachusetts elected leaders have taken […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Police brutality highlights clout of public-sector unions
OUTRAGE OVER THE brutal killing of George Floyd has rightly heightened public scrutiny of police union resistance to desperately needed reforms. Less understandable is the assumption that the police are an […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Boston City Council bans use of facial recognition tech
THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL voted unanimously on Wednesday to prohibit the police department and other city agencies from using facial recognition technology or information derived from face surveillance systems. The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
The new civil rights movement
MONICA CANNON-GRANT ORGANIZED the largest Boston demonstration to date against police brutality toward blacks, a march that drew tens of thousands of people to Franklin Park earlier this month. Nearly a […]
Posted inThe Download
The new civil rights movement
Monica Cannon-Grant organized the largest Boston demonstration to date against police brutality toward blacks, a march that drew tens of thousands of people to Franklin Park earlier this month. Nearly […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Barr visit with Gross stirs outcry
WHEN YOU WANT A controversial photo op, look no further than US Attorney General William Barr. He will deliver. Three weeks after the AG’s involvement in President Trump’s much-criticized walk to […]
Posted inThe Download
Barr visit with Gross stirs outcry
When you want a controversial photo op, look no further than US Attorney General William Barr. He will deliver. Three weeks after the AG’s involvement in President Trump’s much-criticized walk […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker releases plan to decertify police for misconduct
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday filed a bill that would create a licensing system for police officers across the state and allow a board made up of members of law […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins: ‘heartbroken, furious, and completely exhausted’
Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins sent the following letter on June 1 to the staff in her office. Dear SCDAO Community, I wanted to address you sooner about the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Feeling the moment after Floyd killing
WHERE DO WE GO with the outrage and window for a reckoning on matters of race in the country that’s been opened by the police killing of George Floyd? Two themes […]
Posted inThe Download
Feeling the moment after Floyd killing
Where do we go with the outrage and window for a reckoning on matters of race in the country that’s been opened by the police killing of George Floyd? Two […]
Posted inHealth Care
Patrick to host town hall on the pandemic and police
On Tuesday, June 16, at 5:00 p.m., CommonWealth will host a virtual town hall with former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. About The Pandemic and the Police: A Conversation About a […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to raise the age
IT’S TIME TO BREAK the logjam on Beacon Hill and raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction above 18. Racial and ethnic disparities exist in both the juvenile and criminal […]
Posted inOpinion
Police, protesters finding common ground
THE MURDER of George Floyd was reprehensible and senselessly tragic. It was also, as an open letter from the US Major Cities Chiefs Association, signed by dozens of police chiefs […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Local police departments adopting 8 Can’t Wait
AROUND THE COUNTRY, and now in Massachusetts, police departments are adopting a set of policies that could potentially decrease violence inflicted by law enforcement. The “8 Can’t Wait” project seeks to […]
Posted inThe Download
Local police departments adopting 8 Can’t Wait
Around the country, and now in Massachusetts, police departments are adopting a set of policies that could potentially decrease violence inflicted by law enforcement. The “8 Can’t Wait” project seeks […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Time for standardized police training in Massachusetts?
IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN that Massachusetts is lacking in its standardization of police training – but there was little urgency on Beacon Hill to do anything about it. Now, the […]
Posted inThe Download
Time for standardized police training in Massachusetts?
It has long been known that Massachusetts is lacking in its standardization of police training – but there was little urgency on Beacon Hill to do anything about it. Now, […]
