FY2014 - FY2018 Capital Investment Plan
Report - Investment Category - Corrections
The Department of Correction operates 18 institutions with five
security levels ranging from contract pre-release to maximum security. These
facilities house over 10,000 criminally sentenced inmates in the jurisdiction
of the Department of Correction, 600 incarcerated as civil offenders and 575
pre-trial or awaiting trial offenders. In addition to the correctional
facilities managed by the Department of Correction, the Commonwealth has 18
jails, houses of correction and related correctional facilities located in 14
Massachusetts counties and managed by sheriffs.
The following graph reflects that Administration’s estimated
capital investment in corrections capital projects over the next five years, as
compared to fiscal years 2007 and 2013 corrections related spending.

Administration Accomplishments to Date
- In
2012, Governor Patrick signed a balanced sentencing reform bill that will
allow many non-violent drug offenders to become immediately eligible for
parole and eliminate parole eligibility for certain three-time violent
offenders. In the long run, sentencing reform will help to mitigate the problem
of overcrowding and reduce the need for the Commonwealth to build new
facilities, which was previously estimated to cost $1.3 B to $2.3 B.
- The Administration
prepared and released the Corrections Master Plan (CMP) in 2012 which
builds on the Sentencing Reform and targets:
- Improving
existing correctional facilities.
- Increasing
bed space to alleviate overcrowding and improve access to programs and services
that help prevent recidivism.
- Creating
regional approaches to housing inmates that facilitate reentry into
society.
- Massachusetts
is one of thirteen states partnering with The Pew Center on the States
using their Results First Model to employ a cutting-edge cost benefit
analysis to analyze our criminal justice policies.
- Waste
water treatment plants at Norfolk and Plymouth Department of Corrections
facilities have been completed.
FY14 Highlights
- The
Regional Western Massachusetts Women's Facility in Hampden County will be
completed, moving women from Western Massachusetts to a more local facility
and easing overcrowding at the state women’s facility at MCI Framingham.
- New
reentry programming space will be created at Department of Correction
facilities by renovating and repurposing administrative space at targeted
locations.
- Construction
of a new Intake Facility at Essex Sheriff’s Department will be completed
this year, providing much needed space for safe and secure processing at
the Middleton site.
- Funding
in this plan will provide for the temporary relocation of detainees at the
Middlesex Sheriff facility located in the Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse in
Cambridge to the Middlesex Sheriff’s facility in Billerica. This
relocation will allow for a comprehensive private redevelopment of the
property, establishing a mixed use office and residential complex. Due to
the scope of this project, it is included as an FY14 highlight in both the
Corrections and Courts section.
- A $3.5 M
dollar energy upgrade at Berkshire Sheriff Jail and House of Correction in
Pittsfield will be completed and is estimated to save over $360 K
annually.
- Construction
of a $13.4 M dollar energy upgrade at NCCI Gardner will continue and will
result in $1.1 M dollars in annual savings once completed.
- The
Commonwealth will continue to study a new Southern Middlesex Justice
Center which will replace the Edward J. Sullivan Judicial Complex in
Cambridge and potentially consolidate several leases throughout Middlesex
County.