![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKIYvWzs1YIFlVbQwzvH9ldN_BlcIA_0KYX9ycxAaj6B1NzB7MlAB0FtKsut7m020q3HUYiFChv7ADl8q_hnl1vUkxB-WDJfxzXw4ID4VQLWHzPxf1w2XcEg7VID89Qxh-D-ARuR_dg15XCqKig6OmfsuAuEaPA8TEzll1Ancu7ZklKURF491VHq9eVfa/w400-h231/Concord%20Prison.jpg) |
Aerial view of MCI-prison, Route 2 rotary in front |
Massachusetts officials
are closing the men’s prison in Concord because of a decline in the number of
men imprisoned in the state*, a long-term trend ongoing from a peak in 2012.
For the ten-year span 2014-2023, the male prison population size fell by 42% to
a total of 5,660. The decrease was much larger than the 25% decrease nationwide.
One reason for the downward trend in MA is a 1/3 decrease in the number of
released prisoners reincarcerated within three years of their release, i.e., fewer
violation of parole or arrests for new crimes.
As mentioned in the title,
one consequence of the downward trend is the decision to close MCI-Concord, the
oldest currently operative prison in the state. The 350-400 men held there and
some of the staff will be transferred to other medium-security facilities.
According to Governor Healey, closing the facility will save $16 million
dollars per year in operating expenses and avoid spending close to $200 million
dollars on deferred maintenance and needed improvements to the facility. The
closure, scheduled for summer 2024, follows the closing of the Cedar
Junction/Walpole facility the year before.
Prisoners' advocates
praised the move and said they hope some of the savings will be put back into
programming, especially to help those incarcerated transition to life after
prison. "The time is now to reduce our carceral footprint and invest in
rehabilitation, re-entry, and community-based support systems," said Jesse
White, policy director at Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts.
Not entirely surprisingly,
the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union voiced opposition to the
planned closure. Its stated reason was that transferring prisoners in large
numbers will increase the risk of violence and other disruptive behavior at the
new locations, placing officers’ safety at risk. Unspoken was a concern that
consolidation of prisons would include staff layoffs, as had occurred with the
previously year’s closure of Walpole.
As for the history of MCI-Concord,
the original building at Concord opened in 1878 as the New State Prison, with
Mexican War veteran General Chamberlain as its warden. Prior to that, state
prisoners were housed at the Charlestown State Prison, which had become
operative in 1803. Massachusetts
reversed itself in 1884, returning state prisoners to Charlestown and
converting Concord to the “Massachusetts Reformatory" where young, male,
first-time offenders would be held for their sentence but potentially released
early to supervised parole. Around 1980 the reformatory designation was dropped
and Concord became a medium security facility.
One of the inmates at Massachusetts
Reformatory was Malcolm Little – 1947 and part of 1948 – in his early 20s at
the time, who shortly afterwards converted to the Nation of Islam and took the
name Malcolm X.
As for the future of
MCI-Concord, the approximately 50 acres will be made available for development.
The state will be meeting with community and other stakeholders about what will
be done with the site. Concord officials are in a strategy stage. From The
Concord Bridge, an independent newspaper started after the Gatehouse-owned
Concord Journal ceased publication, “Housing? Commercial development? Municipal
buildings? Are there historical preservation concerns? And what about doing
something with that harrowing Route 2 rotary?”
At the state level, the
Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance will facilitate the sale,
lease or transfer of the property, a process that is expected to take years.
Issues include how the prison’s wastewater treatment facility might serve the
town’s future needs. Select Board members have pointed out that Concord already
has several sizeable housing projects in the development pipeline, including
affordable housing, so the prison site – close to Route 2 – might be a better
opportunity for business development. The Board voted unanimously to set up a
local advisory committee “that will bring together some of the expertise that
we have in town and kind of flesh out what [Concord wants] to see there.”
Concord is also host to a
minimum-security facility on the north side of Route 2A - the Northeastern
Correctional Center – which houses 175-200 men. It will remain open for the
foreseeable future. NCC encompasses 300 acres of farmland and provides inmates
with work opportunities prior to being released from prison. NCC work
opportunities include the Fife and Drum Restaurant, which is open to the public
for lunch, Tuesday-Friday. Meal cost is $3.21.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXjJAUDQzg-Pi_PlUVWgxaNE8rYns1uaGArkwtA_-IVAuMZja0ZRX6dTaMkBF308X9wXq7IowJItYrvniei9MlC73xl0F3_mSnCOi9_t_vQEEBmaK-WNabyDQtHr9I1j_Z8KKrhCh251tJP0sfWyTSF83dN1RRBmmCCRJu971usKQwq1b50Nlnq7hJainH/s320/Prison%20Maynard%20Jail.jpg) |
Maynard lock-up behind what is now the Paper Store building (emply) |
Maynard has its own
history of a lock-up. The position of constable was created at the first town
meeting. Shortly thereafter the Selectmen authorized construction of a brick
lock-up, 14 x 14 feet, behind what is now No. 2 Railroad Street. In April 1894 a
two-cell lock-up, again brick, was built behind the Nason Street fire station.
Photos in the collection of the Maynard Historical Society show it as a
one-story building with a chimney for a coal-burning stove. This was in use
until 1934, then closed when the police offices more to a building on the west
side of Town Hall (later the town library, currently the police station again).
The Nason Street lock-up remained unoccupied until demolished in 1984 for construction
of the Paper Store building (currently empty) that replaced the fire station. The
present-day police station on Main Street has lock-up cells for short-term use
– it is not a prison.
*And imprisoned women. The
women’s prison population for 2023 was 201, all housed at a facility in
Framingham. The count is down from 792 in 2014.