Suffolk County Probation Officers Instrumental In Keeping the Peace
Among Gang Associates Following Shooting Death

Left to right: BMC-Dorchester First Assistant Chief Probation Officer Michael Branch, Suffolk County Probation Regional Supervisor Mark McHale, BMC-West Roxbury Chief Mark Prisco, and BMC-Roxbury Chief Probation Officer Anthony Gully.

          Suffolk County Chief and Assistant Chief Probation Officers played a key role in an effort to stop the bloodshed on the streets of Boston when they brought rival gang associates together recently during a series of meetings to promote peace and discourage retaliation following the shooting death of a young man.

          This intervention effort is called Operation Cease Fire, a partnership program between Probation and Boston Police established in 1996 to staunch gun and gang violence. It features representatives from law enforcement who issue stern warnings to the young men and inform them of the state and federal sentences they may incur if they continue to flout the law. Also, individuals from community and human services groups introduce the young men to resources available to them if they want to turn their lives around.

          Cease Fire relies heavily on Probation Officers who are well acquainted with the young men, their families, social backgrounds and community ties to bring the rivals to the table to push for a peaceful resolution. Another component of Cease Fire is Operation Nite Lite, a Probation-established program which pairs police with Probation on night visits to offenders' homes.

          Chief Probation Officers Mark Prisco of BMC-West Roxbury, and Anthony Gully of BMC-Roxbury, and First Assistant Chief Probation Officer Michael Branch of BMC-Dorchester dispatched Probation Officers to the homes of known gang associates who are on probation and those who have been court-involved in the past to direct them to attend the meetings where representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Boston Police Department, Boston Public School Police, local clergy, and community street workers are present.

          "The meeting was a rapid response to the shooting. If it weren't for the involvement of Probation, it would be almost impossible to identify those intimately involved with this situation and bring them together so quickly," said Prisco. "We are the key to the whole process. We are the ones who bring them (young men) in.”

          First Assistant Chief Probation Officer Branch, one of the Cease Fire presenters, imparts a poignant message to the young men at the sessions. He speaks of how two lives are lost when there is a shooting death: the murder victim and the shooter. The purpose of Cease Fire, Branch said is rapid response.

          "We like to get into their heads when they are hot-tempered and while they are at the retribution, retaliation stage,” he said.

          The Cease Fire meetings took place over a three-day period. The first two meetings were held at Boston Municipal Court-Roxbury Division and the third session took place at a Jamaica Plain community center. BMC-Roxbury Chief Probation Officer Anthony Gully, said "We called in an amalgam of groups: law enforcement, human services, community, and clergy,” said Gully, who coordinated the BMC-Roxbury meeting. "The purpose is to reach out to those individuals who are gang-involved and to send the message to stop the violence, stop the drama and to avail themselves of the services available to them.”

          For Branch, these meetings go beyond the responsibilities of his job, "I was born and raised in the inner-city. For me, it is a form of giving back. These meetings have a very big impact. If you can reach just one (young man), it's considered a big impact."