The Trial Court Community Service Program of the Office of the
Commissioner of Probation Helps Restore Springfield Police Headquarters Lot
and Memorial for Fallen Officers

          Community Service crews from the Trial Court Community Service Program of the Office of the Commissioner of Probation cleaned up three years of accumulated trash outside of the Springfield Police Headquarters. The two-acre lot is also the site of an important memorial for officers killed in the line of duty.

          Because of budget cuts and lay-offs, the department was unable to keep up with maintenance on a regular basis, said Thomas M. Scanlon, President of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Local 364, Springfield Police Patrolman's Union.

          The Hampden County Community Service Crew of 20 traveled to the headquarters on Pearl Street three times a week for the past two weeks. The group of probationers and pre-release offenders provided 80 hours of manual labor for the massive clean-up of trash as well as landscaping, trimming and weeding.

          "We are happy to assist the Springfield Police Department with maintaining the lot. This project also gives offenders the opportunity to give back to the community in a productive and visual way," said Mike LeCours, Court Services Coordinator at the Hampden County Community Corrections Center.

          LeCours said the Community Service team has committed to cleaning and maintaining the lot on a long-term basis. A maintenance plan has been established. The crew will spend 20 hours each month maintaining the grounds.

          "The police headquarters is a highly-traveled area. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is important that the building and its exterior are kept in good shape," said Scanlon.

          The Community Service Program provides 24,000 hours of service each month, statewide to cash-strapped and short-staffed municipalities, social service agencies and community groups throughout the Commonwealth. Community Service crews have done everything from cleaning up lots to sprucing up city streets to landscaping and construction to delivering food to food kitchens and moving furniture.

          "We are answering calls from cities, towns and agencies hit hard by budget cuts from Barnstable to the Berkshires. We are happy to help. That is what we are here for," said Kevin Duggan, State wide Supervisor for the Trial Court Community Service Program.

           The Massachusetts Probation Service is a department of the Massachusetts Trial Court. There are 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) serves as the central administrative office for the state Probation service and the Office of Community Corrections which operates 23 Community Corrections Centers throughout the state.