New Report on Drug-Free Zone Inequities Provides Opportunity for 'Smart On Crime' Sentencing Reforms in Massachusetts

A new report shows that Massachusetts' drug-free zone laws fail to improve children's safety and are a driving force behind the increased incarceration of minorities and the poor. Authored by the Prison Policy Initiative, a Northampton-based nonpartisan think tank, "The Geography of Punishment" analyzed the impact of drug-free zone laws on urban and rural communities, using data from Hampden County. It found that drug-free zone laws do not accomplish their intended goal of improving children's safety and directly translate to greater rates of incarceration for black, Latino, urban and poor defendants because the zones blanket urban areas.

Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a national, nonpartisan organization working for fair and proportional sentencing laws, says that Massachusetts is not alone in confronting problems caused by mandatory minimum drug and drug-free zone laws. "This report provides yet more evidence of the unintended -- yet very harmful -- consequences of well-meaning but counter-productive legislation. Massachusetts' joint Judiciary Committee understands the issue, as it recently filed House Bill 5004, which would reduce the size of school zones and eliminate the mandatory minimum sentence for first time offenders. We strongly support these Committee proposals, which would protect public safety while ensuring fair and proportionate sentences," said Barbara J. Dougan, director of the Massachusetts FAMM project. "Reform of drug and drug-free zone laws could save the state millions in corrections costs and reduce the human and fiscal waste of mandatory minimum drug sentences," said Dougan. "FAMM welcomes the opportunity to work with the Patrick Administration and legislators to this end."

Massachusetts' drug-free zone laws require a two-year mandatory minimum sentence for those convicted of distributing or possessing with intent to sell drugs within 1,000 feet of school property, or 100 feet of parks or playgrounds. The report shows that 1,000 foot zones are so large that most drug activity within them has nothing to do with children. When an entire urban area becomes a drug-free zone, the law has no deterrent effect. Instead, it punishes drug offenses occurring in urban areas more harshly than the same crimes committed in rural or suburban communities.

"The report illustrates the shameful racial disparities that result from drug-free zone laws. People of color are hit hardest. Urban residents are five times more likely to be subject to these laws. According to the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission, a staggering 81 percent of those convicted of zone violations were African-American or Latino," said Dougan.

FAMM's Massachusetts campaign was launched in 2007, in response to calls for an overhaul of the state's sentencing system from Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and other legislative leaders.

For more information, visit: http://www.famm.org