BOSTON, Aug. 27, 2018—Data collected from local and state agencies show simultaneous declines in Suffolk County prosecutions and incarceration as violent crime dropped in Boston, showing that local prosecution strategies have paid remarkable dividends over the past decade, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced today.

“Massachusetts has the second-lowest statewide rates of adult incarceration and juvenile commitment in the country,” Conley said. “Here in Suffolk County, our smart-on-crime strategies have cut incarceration, violent crime, and new prosecutions by about 40%. The numbers show that our innovative approach has made the city safer while reducing the number of people behind bars. This is a modern prosecution model the nation should be following.”

Statistics from the Executive Office of the Trial Court show that new cases filed in Suffolk County courthouses – the Boston Municipal Court Department, Chelsea District Court, and Suffolk Superior Court – fell from almost 44,000 in 2008 to 26,577 last year, reflecting a 40% drop in new prosecutions during that 10-year period. While Juvenile Court statistics were not available from before 2012, delinquency complaints in Suffolk County fell from 1,834 that year to 963 last year – a decline of more than 40%.

Statistics from the Boston Police Department show the city’s crime rate dropped from 980 to 645 per 100,000 residents between 2008 and 2017, a decline of 34%. And reports from the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association from 2012 to 2016, updated by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department late last year, show a decline of 40% in sentenced inmates, from 813 to 486.

“Suffolk prosecutors embrace effective alternatives to traditional prosecution and sentencing every day,” Conley said. “But they also use the tools at their disposal to identify and prosecute the small number of individuals whose conduct damages and destabilizes the community. These dedicated public service lawyers are doing great work in the courtroom and across the county, and we should recognize their efforts.”

Source: Massachusetts Sheriffs Association, SCSD data request

Source: Executive Office of the Trial Court

Source: Boston Police Department

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.