Community Resources for Justice

History

Community Resources for Justice is a Massachusetts-based organization which today represents the merger of older organizations in the Boston and New England area. While most of its work today is focused in the northeastern United States, CRJ is also engaged in work in other states around the nation.

The New England Society for the Suppression of Vice (NESSV): Begun in 1878, this organization worked to create legislation that would put forth and influence public morality and dissuade crime. This was an independent law enforcement agency that acted independently until a 1975 merger with other organizations. The NESSV went through a number of name changes as it took on more goals. In 1891, the organization was renamed the New England Watch and Ward Society following its undertaking of organized crime in the Boston area. In 1957, this became the New England Citizens Crime Commission, which focused on specific organized crimes groups, especially one involved in an illegal betting circle. In 1967, the NECCC turned back to crime prevention under the name Massachusetts Council on Crime and Correction.

Shortly after the NESSV began, John Howard helped start the Massachusetts Prison Association in 1889 (renamed shortly after Massachusetts’ Discharged Prisoners). This organization focused on providing temporary amenities for recently released criminals at such locations as the John Howard Industrial Home. In 1937, they broadened their scope to provide emergency services to the previously incarcerated with the help of the women’s organization Friends of Prisoners. The Massachusetts Prison Association, the John Howard Society, and Friends of Prisoners merge in 1940 and began working with Massachusetts Halfway-Houses, Inc. (MHHI).

Following a loss of funding in 1975, the Massachusetts Council on Crime and Correction and the Massachusetts Correctional Association merged to become the Crime and Justice Foundation. The group’s current name, Community Resources for Justice (CRJ), was created in 1999 after merging with MHHI. Today, the organization provides services to ex–offenders to re–integrate them into society, and reforming the criminal justice system through public policy development while simultaneously pushing for legislation aiding adults with intellectual disabilities and troubled youth.

Activities

Community Resources for Justice works towards providing services to ex–offenders to re–integrate them into society and reforming the criminal justice system through public policy development. CRJ also provides services to adults with intellectual disabilities. Its Community Strategies department operates 24 group homes in three states. The Social Justice Services department, successor to MHHI, operates five adult halfway houses in three states and three youth residential facilities in Massachusetts. The Crime and Justice Institute, successor to the Crime and Justice Foundation, has worked in 13 states as of 2011.

In 2001, CRJ released a study that showed that corrections overhauls from the late 1980s striped rehabilitation from prison life, leaving prisoners unfit to be released. The study states that 62 percent of former state prison inmates will be rearrested within three years of release. Study stated that “recidivism is more likely than ever because of a decline in reintegration programs in our prisons and county jails since the 1980s." "Challenge for law enforcement officials isn't simply keeping criminals off the streets but giving them the tools they need to stop reoffending."

Along with the Boston Foundation, CRJ "compiled the experiences of 28 employers, advocates, criminal records officials, landlords, and legislators. It gives a first look at the real-world effects of changes to the Criminal Offender Record Information system, widely known by the acronym CORI, which had been lauded by activists as a game-changer for people with criminal records looking to reintegrate into society." Their work helped put the “Ban the Box” provision into place, which prevents employers from asking about criminal records on initial job applications. The study shows that while this has allowed more former convicts to get job interviews, it has seldom translated into jobs.