Mass. nearly halved its incarceration rate in 10 years, report finds

BOSTON GLOBE: Massachusetts has nearly halved its incarceration rate over the past decade, progress that researchers of a new report say was fueled by landmark criminal justice reform legislation introduced by the state in 2018.

The report from MassINC and Boston Indicators, a research team at the Boston Foundation, comes as the state announced the upcoming closure of MCI-Concord, the state’s oldest men’s prison currently operating at 50 percent capacity. Advocates said that was a signal the reform was having an impact.

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“What we’re seeing in the big picture is incarceration is going down, and crime is going down,” said Gregg Croteau, chief executive officer of UTEC, a young adult violence intervention nonprofit. “We’re on the right path.”