MIDDLESEX
SUPERIOR COURT PROBATION DEPARTMENT
EARNS RECERTIFICATION
The
Probation Department of the Middlesex Superior Court will mark
its recertification with a special ceremony at the courthouse,
40 Thorndike Street in Cambridge, on March 14th, at 1 p.m.
The
recertification process measures the effectiveness of probation
officers and their ability to monitor offenders in the community.
Recertification
is conducted by eight regional supervisors who spend the day in
the court, auditing randomly selected files from each probation
officer’s caseload. Each probation officer is rated on their competence
in classifying probationer’s risk to the community, ensuring offender
complies with a judge’s orders, and regularly meeting with probationers.
A probation department qualifies for recertification if it scores
85 percent or better. The Middlesex Superior Court Probation Department
received a score of 93.9 percent. The recertification is effective
through October 25, 2004.
“This
an official acknowledgment of the meritorious work performed daily
by the probation staff. Under the leadership of Chief Probation
Officer Joyce E. Coleman and First Assistant Chief Probation Officer
Joseph E. Centrella, this effort has resulted in a superior department
serving the needs of probationers and the community at large,
said Judge Charles Grabau, Regional Administrative Justice for
Criminal Business, Middlesex Superior Court.
Middlesex
Superior Court’s Probation Department includes three Assistant
Chief Probation Officers, 19 probation officers who monitor 941
adult offenders. Middlesex Superior operates several programs
which benefit both the offender and the community at large. They
include the Fatherhood Program, the Women’s Intervention Program,
the Auto Theft Task Force, and substance abuse counseling. The
Massachusetts Probation Service is a department of the Massachusetts
Trial Court. There are also 12 Superior Court, 70 District Court,
and 12 Probate and Family Court probation offices throughout the
Commonwealth. Probation’s Juvenile Court system includes 11 divisions
which represent every county in the state. The Office of the Commissioner
of Probation (OCP) also serves as the central administrative office
for the Office of Community Corrections.
