NCJ Number
126867
Journal
Large Jail Network Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: (June 1990) Pages: 6-7
Date Published
1990
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Inmates at the Hampden County Day Reporting Center (Massachusetts) are within six months of release and are able to work and participate in community activities.
Abstract
In October 1986, faced with worsening overcrowding, Massachusetts instituted what the Crime and Justice Foundation refers to as the first, day-reporting center in the nation. Participants must report into the center daily to be observed by staff, call in daily at several specified times, be at home when scheduled to be there, and pass frequent random urinalysis tests that detect alcohol or drug use. Participants are also monitored randomly by "community officers." Under this system, each participant is contacted between 50 and 80 times per week. Participants have earned their way into the day reporting program by positive behavior and program participation. Nearly 500 individuals have participated in the program to date and none has committed a violent crime in the community while in the program. Eighty percent have successfully completed the program. Advantages of the day reporting center include more cell and bed spaces for those who need them the most, less cost than 24-hour lockup, and implementation of an incentive-based program participation philosophy.