Press Release  Commissioner Ed Dolan joins Probation and Parole leaders across the country in national criminal justice reform effort to reduce incarceration

Boston, MA — Massachusetts Probation Commissioner Edward J. Dolan is one of a national group of Probation and Parole leaders across the country who are leading a reform effort called EXiT, Executives Transforming Probation and Parole. EXiT’s goal is to reduce the number of people who are on probation supervision and whose probation violations result in jail time.

Dolan and other EXiT members are teaming up in an effort to improve the policies that apply to those under probation or parole supervision. EXiT participants—who are collaborating to improve the policies that apply to those under probation or parole supervision—believe that an excessive number of people are being incarcerated as a result of minor technical probation and parole violations such as non-payment of fees, positive drug tests, or missing curfew.

“Things that do not pose an imminent threat to the public often result in violations and we are trying to move away from this and instead work with probationers to address their needs and help them become law abiding citizens who contribute positively to society,” said Dolan.

A group statement was released on Monday at the annual conference of the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) in San Francisco, California. It read in part: “We stand for a community supervision system that has a smaller and more focused footprint and values dignity, fairness, race and gender equity, community, and reintegration. We affirm that justice-involved people have the inherent value and worth. Our system should provide hope for the future, not a pathway to incarceration.”

In Massachusetts, there are approximately 60,000 individuals under probation supervision. The Massachusetts Probation Service (MPS) is a department of the Massachusetts Trial Court. MPS has one of the lowest rates of probation violations in the nation with less than 19 percent of incarcerations resulting in probation violations, according to Dolan.

“In Massachusetts, we have a number of programs, initiatives, and policies in place that have resulted in a reduction in recidivism and shortened the time an individual is under Probation supervision. Good time credits are given to individuals who follow their conditions of probation,” Dolan said.

He added, “We are working with those who leave prison and re-enter society by providing them with health care—medical and behavioral.”

In addition to Dolan, Probation and Parole executives from Maricopa County, Arizona; New York City; San Diego, California; Los Angeles; Alameda County, California, and Georgia are among the criminal justice leaders who support this effort.

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