MASSACHUSETTS PROBATION SERVICE CELEBRATES
NATIONAL PROBATION SUPERVISION MONTH

The Massachusetts Probation Service has joined Probation Officers across the nation and internationally in celebrating our profession and the impact we have in the community and the courts. The celebration, set by the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), takes place this month. The 2006 theme is “Safety, Solutions, Service.”

Massachusetts is the birthplace of Probation. In 1841, a Boston cobbler named John Augustus convinced the Boston Police Court to release a drunkard into his custody instead of sending him to prison. Because of Augustus’ success with helping the man turn his life around, he was able to convince the court to release others into his custody. Augustus later began taking in troubled children. In 1878, Massachusetts passed the first probation statute which put into place an official state probation system.

Today, there are nearly 250,000 residents who are under probation supervision in Massachusetts, according to statistics provided by the Research Department at the Office of the Commissioner of Probation.

Of the 244,995 individuals under supervision in the Commonwealth, there are 205,379 adults and 39,616 juveniles under watch by Probation Officers. Seventy-six percent of offenders are on probation for committing a criminal or delinquent offense. There are 28,021 adult women and 136,807 adult men on probation in Massachusetts. Probation Officers supervise offenders through visits to their homes and by enforcing the orders of the court. It is also the Probation Officer’s job to determine an offender’s need for services such as substance abuse counseling.

The typical profile of an adult probationer is a 31- year-old man who is on maximum supervision, according to information kept by the Research Department. An offender on maximum supervision receives regular home visits from their probation officer and may be required to report to the probation officer at the court. In cases where substance abuse is a problem, the offender may be ordered to submit to regular drug and alcohol testing and may be required to attend substance abuse counseling.

Eighty-two percent of male probationers were younger than 24 when they committed their first offense. Of the male probation population, 86 percent have a substance abuse problem.

Of the female probation population, 77.3 percent of women offenders are under maximum supervision. Seventy percent of the female probationers had a prior record within the past five years and 66 percent were younger than 24 at the time of their first offense. Eighty-two percent of women offenders suffer with substance abuse issues.