By Ms. Fox of Boston, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1425) of Gloria L. Fox and others for legislation to authorize the Department of Correction to report annually on recidivism.  The Judiciary.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PETITION OF:

Gloria L. Fox

Marie P. St. Fleur

Willie Mae Allen

William N. Brownsberger

Ruth B. Balser

William Lantigua

Kay Khan

Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.

Anthony J. Verga

Alice K. Wolf

Barbara A. L'Italien

Benjamin Swan

Byron Rushing

Patricia D. Jehlen

Carl M. Sciortino, Jr.

Michael E. Festa

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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.

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An Act to authorize the department of corrections to report annually on recidivism.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 21 of chapter 799 of the Acts of 1985, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following:— The commissioner of the Department of Corrections (DOC) is hereby authorized and directed by report annually on the recidivism of persons released from the custody of the DOC and the custody of the several sheriffs either by unconditional discharge or by parole. For the purpose of such report a recidivist is defined as any person released from a commitment of at least thirty days who is re-incarcerated in a Massachusetts state correctional institution or to a house of correction or jail for at least 30 days within three years of their date of release to the street.

Such report shall include and compute separate recidivism rates for releases from each state and county facility, and shall further include and compute separately recidivism rates for persons

released from isolation, segregation and disciplinary units, including but not limited to the Departmental Disciplinary Unit and Security Threat Group units at MCI-Cedar Junction or elsewhere. For the purposes of such report, “release from isolation, segregation and disciplinary units” shall include all persons released from custody who spent thirty or more days in an isolation, segregation, disciplinary, or Security Threat Group Unit within the six months immediately prior to their release.

The reports mandated by this section shall be prepared and published yearly. The Commissioner of the DOC shall file such report with the supreme judicial court, the chief administrative

justice of the trial court, the secretary of public safety, the commissioner of administration, and the house and senate committees on public safety and criminal justice and shall make sufficient

copies available to the general public.