Yvonne Abraham got it right in her column “Parole board lacks justice” (Metro, June 23). Massachusetts has used its low incarceration rate (compared with other states, but not compared with other developed countries) and declining prison populations as reasons to let current practices remain, arguing that it’s good enough. Yet no one should take satisfaction in the high recidivism rates the state experiences — that is, no one who values community safety in every neighborhood.

Last year the Legislature enacted criminal justice reforms. With those and other tools, the Commonwealth can do better. It needs to capitalize on the opportunity of lower prison populations to shift resources to strategies that will affect recidivism. It needs to deploy interventions both in prison and in the community that will reduce the risk of reoffending. It needs to embrace that risk and manage it with proven strategies and interventions, not avoid it.