NEW BEDFORD DISTRICT PROBATION WARRANT
APPREHENSION TEAM’S PRESENCE IS FELT
IN THE COMMUNITY

Probation officers enter offender's home.

New Bedford District Court Probation Warrant Appprehension Team check warrant list.

Probation Officer Dennis Halls talks to probationer taken into custody at the New Bedford Police Department.

Probation Officer Vincent Godwin, right, and New Bedford Police Officer at offender's door.

Probationer  apprehended during warrant sweep.

New Bedford District Court Warrant Apprehension Team members, left to right, Donald Chausse, Dave Branco, Dennis Halls and Vincent Godwin. Assistant Chief Probation Officer Clinton Martin not shown.

Members of New Bedford District Probation's Warrant Apprehension team set out on a sweep of the neighborhood recently where they apprehended several absconders and put offenders on notice that probation would not tolerate ignored court orders.

"They're arresting people," yelled a young boy around 12 years old who watched a police cruiser drive by with two Probation Officers and a police officer in it.

During the recent sweep, which targeted 20 probationers, neighborhood residents gathered to watch as probation officers and police paid visits to the homes of offenders who had outstanding warrants. One probationer, a woman in her early 20's, was found at home, a small apartment decorated with velvet paintings of Elvis Presley on the wall and occupied by 10 to 15 family members. An elderly gentleman, standing in front of a worn-out green sofa, answered the door and allowed the two probation officers and police into the home as a second police cruiser pulled up outside to assist. The woman had failed to pay restitution for a sprinkler system she broke while serving time in the Dartmouth House of Correction.

As the woman was led out to the police cruiser, a group of about 15 neighbors and passers-by had gathered outside her home and watched as she was taken into custody. At the police station, while being booked she cursed the probation officers during the one phone call she was allowed to make to family.

At another home, the family members of an offender explained to Probation Officers and police that the young man they are looking for is at work. The young man, unaware that probation and police were nearby, emerged from a home, and ran into the Probation Officers and was promptly arrested by police.

Each week, the five-member Warrant Apprehension Team from New Bedford District Court go out to find offenders who did not show up at court and have warrants issued against them. Typically, the Warrant Apprehension Team and police arrest four to five absconders each week.

"The beauty of going out with the police is that we very often help to de-escalate the problem," said Probation Officer Dave Branco.

"They know us and we know them," added Probation Officer Vincent Godwin.

Godwin said, "There are 90,000 people in New Bedford. We have the big problems that big cities have."

The Probation team includes First Assistant Chief Probation Officer and New Bedford native Clint Martin, two other New Bedford natives and Probation Officers Branco and Donald Chausse. Godwin, who originally hails from Washington, D.C. and Dennis Halls, formerly of San Antonio, Texas, have strong ties to the community.

On occasion, the team goes out with other law enforcement officers on the sweeps. For instance, they may collaborate with the New Bedford Police Gang Unit to track down gang-affiliated young people who have warrants.

"The advantage of working with Probation is that they do all of the research. They know the people and their personal history. They know their hang-outs" said New Bedford Police Officer Michael Michaelski.

Armed with a list of offenders with outstanding warrants, Probation Officers and police meet at the New Bedford Police Station where they separate into teams: two Probation Officers and one police officer per police cruiser. Both cruisers travel to the same address where, based on previous experience, they expect to encounter an offender who has a history of violence. The team begins their sweep in one of the three sections of the city, a port metropolis which is 13.7 miles long and 7.5 miles wide, and then fan out to the other areas: the West End, the South End, and North End neighborhoods of New Bedford.

"We start pulling warrants earlier in the week at the court and then get the most up to date warrants just before the court closes on the day we plan to go out on the sweep," said Godwin.

During sweeps, the team often catches offenders off-guard. A probationer, whose terms of probation prohibit him from drinking, is spotted entering Franando's Sports Bar on County Street. Godwin enters the bar and finds the man who fails at his attempt to hide behind another patron. Godwin instructs the man to come outside.

"Probation is not for you. I'll have to violate you if you've been drinking," Godwin said admonishing the man in his 40's. The offender assures Godwin that he did not plan to drink but had only stopped to use the bar's bathroom. Godwin orders the man to report to the court the next day where he plans to have the man tested for alcohol.

Later in the evening a former probationer and his wife, pushing a baby carriage, stroll by. "He's stayed out of trouble for three years now," the woman assures the Probation Officers.