04.22.07

Reform the Criminal Record System in Massachusetts

Posted in sentencing, civil liberties, politics at 12:12 am by misstyrios

I was honestly surprised that now-Governor Deval Patrick made reforming the Massachusetts criminal record system a platform of his campaign - when politicians are obsessed with seeming “tough on crime,” this could have easily been interpreted as “soft on crime.” But, of course, he was highlighting the fact that individuals with criminal records, no matter how minimal, face near impossible barriers to getting jobs, housing, and education, thus only encouraging a cycle of recidivism when there’s no opportunity to truly become a so-called “productive member of society.”

Currently, a person’s record (called a CORI, for the Criminal Offender Record Information) reflects a felony for at least 15 years and a misdemeanor for 10. This is true even if there was no jail sentence, but only probation, community service, or even a dismissal. If he picks up a new charge, the count starts all over again. And then a person has to petition to expunge the record, a system that presents a whole new slew of barriers and red tape. On top of that, CORIs are filled with difficult-to-read code and shorthand. I look at several CORIs everyday and I still come across abbreviations that I have to look up.

Let’s say, for example, that you have just decided to invest in some real estate. You buy an apartment building and begin taking applications for tenants. You request an applicant’s CORI and see the following after a charge of, say, “disorderly conduct”:

C 12/13/02 CWOF SP 12/9/03 VN 2/12/03 DF 8/31/05 D/R VOP FINE $200 10/7/05 DF 12/6/05 D/F CMTD

Would you have any freakin idea what that meant if you hadn’t even had training on CORIs or a list of what each entry meant? All you would see is a bunch of gibberish that seems to show that this person had a lot of involvement with the court. Just the mere fact of entries may be enough to say no to her application, regardless of what it actually meant or what she was doing now.

(By the way, it means that, after arraignment, the case was continued to 12/13/02, at which point the defendant admitted to sufficient facts for a finding of guilty and was given a Continued Without a Finding with supervised probation until 12/9/03 but was served with a violation of probation to be heard on 2/12/03. The person defaulted on that date but the default was removed on 8/31/05 and the violation hearing resulted in there being a fine of $200 assessed. The fine was due on 10/7/05 but the money was not paid by then and the person did not show up in court to explain why it was not paid. That default was removed on 12/6/05 and the person was then committed in jail, likely for seven days at the rate of $30 credit per day).

This week, protesters against the current CORI system marched on the Statehouse to demand that this asinine system of roadblocks be reformed to allow people to get on with their lives, rather than being branded for the rest of their lives.

The system, developed in 1972, was meant to create a database for law enforcement agencies while streamlining people’s personal information into one system, so it could be controlled.

Those calling for reform argued, however, that the setup has allowed employers and housing agencies to use blanket discrimination against anyone with a criminal record, without consideration for the nature of the crime, when it occurred, or whether there was ever a conviction. Plus, there’s no consideration for rehabilitation services that were completed, advocates for reform said.

[…]

Those lobbying for reform have called for reducing the time before a record can be sealed, from 15 to 7 years for a felony, and from 10 to three years for a misdemeanor. Also, agencies other than law enforcement would be limited to viewing records of convictions and pending cases. The proposal would ban employer discrimination if someone’s criminal history would not pertain to the job.

Advocates cited statistics showing that people who have stayed crime-free for seven years have less than a 1 percent chance of re-offending. They questioned why CORI should haunt them when they’ve escaped a criminal past.

Currently, Governor Patrick is looking to attach fingerprint records to CORIs and train employers to read codes like the ones cited above.  But he faces a much steeper uphill battle in his quest to limit CORI access for employers because, of course, people see this as rewarding criminals, not helping people move on from past mistakes.

Using taxpayer dollars to give criminals an easier ride is often a bitter pill to swallow, however. Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella supports Patrick’s two proposals, but would oppose anything that would restrict the release of CORI information.

Those who espouse a “lock them up and throw away the key” mentality are missing the fact that 97 percent of Massachusetts inmates will be released, said Len Engles, project coordinator of the Criminal Justice Institute.

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