Background
The Boston Police Department submitted a request to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) to address the release and reentry of approximately 600 to 1100 inmates, which will occur in the next several months. The release of these inmates comes as a result of the discovery that drug evidence tampering and document and test result falsification may have impacted thousands of cases that were processed at the William A. Hinton State Laboratory Institute. The Boston Police Department submitted a request for assistance in identifying an appropriate training and technical assistance (TTA) provider and tactics to help them proactively target the risks associated with these high reentry rates and to develop a strategy to mitigate those risks.
Summary of Proposed Technical Assistance
The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or computerized mapping technology is critical in capturing concentrations, patterns, and trends in data. GIS tools can be used to inform law enforcement agencies, community corrections officials, and service providers of such information as location, services, resources, risks, and gaps, and help these providers assess how those trends may impact the affected neighborhoods. This information is essential to promote effective partnerships between police, corrections, probation and parole, and community service providers as a means to facilitate the successful reentry of high-, moderate-, and low-risk offenders. Through this technical assistance engagement, computerized mapping technology will be used to identify the neighborhoods in Boston where the inmates will be released. In addition, based on this data, the technical assistance will be offered to identify the risks and needs of those reentering those neighborhoods and potential service gaps. NTTAC has partnered with the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) to serve as the TTA provider to work with the Boston Police Department. The CJI operates as a division of Community Resources for Justice, Inc. The primary goal of CJI is to make criminal and juvenile justice systems more efficient and cost effective, promote accountability, and achieve better outcomes. The work of CJI is done primarily through policy analysis, technical assistance, research and program evaluation, and educational activities. To learn more about CJI, click here.