Probation’s PEACE Partnership Program to Monitor Games
at Gillette Stadium, Home of the Patriots

          Beginning December 1st, high school football “Superbowl” games will be played under the watchful eyes of Probation Officers at Gillette Stadium, the home field of the New England Patriots, which is sure to draw hundreds of hometown fans.

          Probation Officers will be front and center at the Gillette Stadium games as part of the Massachusetts Probation Service’s PEACE (Probation Enhancing Athletic Climate Excellence) Partnership Community Probation Initiative. PEACE is an alliance between the Office of the Commissioner of Probation (OCP) and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), a private, non-profit association organized by its member schools to regulate, coordinate, and promote athletic programs for high school students.

          Commissioner John J. O’Brien and Stephen Fratalia as well as representatives from MIAA met with the staff of Patriots owner Bob Kraft at Gillette Stadium recently and entered an agreement which allows the high school Superbowl games to be played on the field. Fratalia is the brainchild behind the PEACE Partnership which was created in September 2004.

          “The PEACE Partnership is another great example of Probation Officers helping to ensure that the games are safe and enjoyable for all who attend,” said Probation Commissioner John J. O’Brien.

          “This is a great opportunity for the PEACE Partnership and MIAA to maintain order at the High School Superbowl games,” said Fratalia.

          Fratalia said of the PEACE Initiative’s past work, “We have assisted in reducing the amount of behavorial incidents and arrests by our visible presence. Just the fact that we provide more crowd surveillance where many incidents start reduces crime.”