Community Service Program Logs In 292,372 Hours Of Work

In The Commonwealth During 2004

Probationers and other offenders worked a total of 292,372 hours participating in community service projects throughout the state in 2004, saving local municipalities, human service agencies, and community organizations millions of dollars, according to the statewide manager of the Massachusetts Trial Court Community Service Program.

"When the general public sees offenders in the community doing work, they will witness first hand the courts holding offenders accountable for their actions," said Kevin Duggan, statewide supervisor for the Massachusetts Trial Court Community Service Program.

The probationers, parolees, and pre-release inmates are ordered by a judge to participate in community service projects as a condition of their sentence. The Trial Court Community Service Program dispatches community service crews to various work sites throughout the state.

"The work offenders do in the community service program saves agencies, cities and towns, and community organizations millions of dollars in manpower. The offenders who perform these jobs give back to the communities by enhancing it physically. They also learn valuable skills and gain a sense of accomplishment," Duggan said.

In December 2004, offenders worked a total of 22,434 hours. They participated in community service efforts that included snow removal; unloading, sorting, and distributing donated food to needy families during the holidays; as well as painting and general repairs.

In Barnstable County, work crews set up tables, chairs, and staging for the National Synchronized Skating Championships at the Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne last month. A group of probationers cleaned the North Adams YMCA and moved furniture at the Boys and Girls Club of Pittsfield.

Bristol County community service crews performed maintenance work such as cleaning and painting on the Battleship Cove. Another community service crew in Fall River sorted food: canned goods, fruit and vegetables and non-perishable items such as rice and flour. The food was sorted for the Fall River Salvation Army to prepare for distribution to needy families.

Community service crews in Dukes County removed an old retaining wall at the Martha's Vineyard Nursing Association; built metal storage shelves at Martha's Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs; raked leaves at the West Chop Cemetery in Tisbury; and cleaned the grounds of the Chilmark Community Church in Chilmark.

In Essex County, community service crews from the Lawrence District Court and the Lawrence Community Corrections Center passed out 400 turkeys and the fixings for a holiday meal to needy families at the Lazarus House.

Franklin County probationers cleaned and sorted donations at the Western Massachusetts Food Bank and the Salvation Army Chapel. They also sorted clothing at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

In Hampden County, offenders assembled pamphlets and bulk mail for the American Cancer Society in West Springfield; cleaned up streets and trash strewn empty lots in Holyoke; and did landscaping at the Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke.

Hampshire county community service crews performed litter patrol on Massachusetts Highways, Routes 46 and 291; and shoveled snow at Littleville Lake, a division of the Army Corps of Engineers at the Knightville Dam in Huntington.

In Middlesex County, probationers sorted clothing and cleaned the warehouse at the Salvation Army in Wilmington; raked leaves and cleaned the Memorial Center at the Breakheart Reservation in Saugus. Probationers also cleaned the local parks, schools and did landscaping for the City of Newton.

Norfolk County community service crews removed snow from handicapped spots and bus stops throughout the City of Quincy and landscaped the Oak Hill Cemetery in Bellingham.

In Plymouth County, offenders shoveled snow for the Stoughton Department of Public Works and the Avon Housing Authority as well as transported Christmas gifts for children at local homeless shelters.

Suffolk County community service workers participated in fall clean up efforts at the Mary Curley School in Jamaica Plain and assisted the Soldiers Home in Chelsea with the painting of stairwells, hallways and did general cleanup of the facility. Offenders also sorted food at the Greater Boston Food Bank; raked leaves and picked up trash at several Boston Public Schools.

In Worcester County, probationers repaired walls in the bathrooms and hallways as well as applied sheet rock and painted at the West Boylston High School.

The Massachusetts Trial Court Community Service Program operates out of the 21 Community Corrections Center throughout the state. The Office of Community Corrections is a department of the Office of the Commissioner of Probation.