The recently appointed Commissioner of the Department of Correction, Harold W. Clarke, was formerly in charge of the Department of Correction in the State of Washington. The Washington state government funds the Washington State Institute for Public Policy with a mission "to carry out practical, non-partisan research-at legislative direction-on issues of importance to Washington State".

At the direction of the legislature in 2005, the Institute analyzed "Evidence-Based Public Policy Options to Reduce Future Prison Construction, Criminal Justice Costs, and Crime Rates". (Steve Aos, Marna Miller, and Elizabeth Drake. (2006). Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.) While larger in area, Washington and Massachusetts have nearly identical sized populations and both have diverse ethnicities within their citizenry. MA is a somewhat wealthier state than Washington, based on the median income, is less rural and has a differring set of economic engines. Washington's annual budget is approximately half of Massachusetts'. However, there is no reason to believe that the determinations reached in this paper could not be broadly applicable to Massachusetts. The summary of the paper states:

"Under current long-term forecasts, Washington State faces the need to construct several new prisons in the next two decades. Since new prisons are costly, the 2005 Washington Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to project whether there are "evidence-based" options that can:

   -- reduce the future need for prison beds,
   -- save money for state and local taxpayers,
   -- contribute to lower crime rates.

"We conducted a systematic review of all research evidence we could locate to identify what works, if anything, to reduce crime. We found and analyzed 571 rigorous comparison group evaluations of adult corrections, juvenile corrections, and prevention programs, most of which were conducted in the United States. We then estimated the benefits and costs of many of these evidence-based options. Finally, we projected the degree to which alternative "portfolios" of these programs could affect future prison construction needs, criminal justice costs, and crime rates in Washington. We find that some evidence-based programs can reduce crime, but others cannot. Per dollar of spending, several of the successful programs produce favorable returns on investment. Public policies incorporating these options can yield positive outcomes for Washington. We project the long-run effects of three example portfolios of evidence-based options: a "current level" option as well as "moderate" and "aggressive" implementation portfolios. We find that if Washington successfully implements a moderate-to-aggressive portfolio of evidence-based options, a significant level of future prison construction can be avoided, taxpayers can save about two billion dollars, and crime rates can be reduced."

Lloyd Fillion, Treasurer,
and
Joel Pentlarge
Interim Executive Director
Telephone (617) 390-5397