Massachusetts Parole Board Reports 11 Percent Recidivism Rate, Flags Housing Gaps

BOSTON — February 9, 2026 — Massachusetts Parole Board chair details 11 percent recidivism rate and housing shortfalls before consolidation commission. Angela Odell Jr., recently appointed as chair of the Massachusetts Parole Board, told the Joint Special Commission on Correctional Consolidation and Collaboration at its February 9 hearing that the board held 2,810 institutional release hearings in 2024 and supervises roughly 1,280 active parolees, about 400 of them on lifetime terms. Field officers conduct approximately 32,000 community contacts annually — 70 percent of them home and program visits rather than office check-ins — with an average officer caseload of 34 to 50. Odell confirmed that more than 1,000 individuals declined parole in 2023, citing supervision reluctance and pending court matters, and acknowledged a clemency petition backlog tied to the board operating with as few as four members during the SJC's Mattis decision period. Commission members Mac Hudson and Sheriff Thomas Cocchi pressed for outcome data on employment, housing, and treatment retention, with Odell pledging to provide a more detailed breakdown; the commission's next public hearing, aimed at including incarcerated voices, is set for March 9.