How many inmates are incarcerated in the DOC?

On July 1, 2011 there were 10,619 criminally sentenced inmates in the jurisdiction of the DOC. There were 652 offenders incarcerated as a civil commitment and 620 offenders pre-trial or awaiting trial in the DOC.

How many Massachusetts inmates are incarcerated in other jurisdictions' facilities?

On July 1, 2011 there were 77 DOC inmates housed in other state or federal correctional facilities; 176 DOC inmates were housed in county correctional facilities.

How many institutions do you have and how many security levels are there?

The Department has 18 institutions and 4 security levels: Maximum, Medium, Minimum and Pre-Release .

What is the DOC overcrowding rate?

The total custody overcrowding rate for DOC facilities as of June 27, 2011 was 144%. The overcrowding rate for medium security facilities was 155%. The overcrowding rate is determined based on the average daily population of the facility divided by the number of beds (design capacity).

What is the average cost to house an inmate per year?

For Fiscal Year 2010, the average cost per year to house an inmate in the Massachusetts DOC was $45,917.05.

How many people are committed to the DOC in a year?

There were 3,072 new criminal court commitments to the DOC during 2010; 2,097 males and 975 females.

How many people are released from the DOC in a year?

During the year 2010, there were 3,898 criminally sentenced inmates released from both DOC facilities, as well as facilities in other jurisdictions. Of these releases, 2,738 (70%) were released to the street: 1,028 via parole and 1,710 through expiration of sentence. Of the 3,898 inmates released, 1,106 were female and 2,792 were male.

What is the average length of stay?

The average length of stay for state criminally sentenced males, including all paroles and discharges in 2009 was 4.75 years. For females, the average length of stay for state criminally sentenced releases to the street was 4.22 years and 179 days for county criminally sentenced releases to the street.

Length of Stay (LOS) is the number of days from the admission date to the release date based on an inmate's commitment number. For inmates with multiple admissions and releases, total length of stay is the accumulation of LOS for each admission and release. Jail credits are included in this total length of stay.

What is the recidivism rate?

A 3 year recidivism study of 2,298 criminally sentenced inmates released from DOC institutions in 2005 yielded the following results: within the first year post-release 559 (24%) of the 2,298 released inmates recidivated, an additional 302 (13%) recidivated in the second year post-release, and another 157 (7%) recidivated within the third year post-release. The overall recidivism rate for inmates released in 2005 over the span of 3 years was 44%.

A recidivist is defined as any criminally sentenced inmate released to the street from a DOC facility during 2005 who is re-incarcerated for a new sentence or violation of parole or probation to a Massachusetts State or County facility or to a Federal facility within three years of his/her release.

How many "lifers" are incarcerated in Massachusetts DOC facilities?

On July 1, 2011, there were 1,866 inmates serving a life sentence. Of the 1,866, there were 994 inmates serving a first-degree life sentence while the remaining 872 were serving a sentence of second-degree life.

What is the gender breakdown of the inmate population?

Of the 10,619 criminally sentenced inmates in DOC jurisdiction on July 1, 2011, 645 (6%) were female and 9,974 (94%) were male.

What is the racial/Hispanic ethnicity composition of the inmate population?

Inmates serving criminal sentences on July 1, 2011 reported the following race/ethnicity: White 4,426 (41.7%), Black 3,000 (28.3%), Hispanic 2,919 (27.5%), Asian 145 (1.4%), American Indian/Alaskan Native 64 (0.6%), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0 (0%), and Other 65 (0.6%).

Please note all numbers are preliminary and subject to change.

Date last updated: August 2011