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  • Massachusetts Probation Service
Press Release

Press Release  Community Service purchases new vans to upgrade fleet and meet probationers’ transportation needs

For immediate release:
7/30/2019
  • Massachusetts Probation Service

Media Contact   for Community Service purchases new vans to upgrade fleet and meet probationers’ transportation needs

Coria Holland, Communications Director

Boston, MAThe lack of transportation is one of the major challenges many probationers across the state face each day. The Trial Court Community Service Program’s recent purchase of four 2019 Ford Transit 12-Passenger Wagons will provide much needed transportation for individuals sentenced to perform community service in Essex and Suffolk counties.

Probation Commissioner Edward J. Dolan said, “These new additions to the fleet represent a statement about the important role that Community Service plays in our work, and in our capacity to do that work at the highest level. They are also an investment to insure the safety of our clients and staff as well.“

Last year, 35,000 participants from across the state were transported to and from community service work sites where they engaged in such pro-social activities as beach, park, and roadside clean-up; landscaping; snow and ice removal; stocking and distributing food at local soup kitchens; and the set-up of 1,000’s of chairs and tables for community concerts and events. Over the past year, probationers performed approximately 200,000 community service hours statewide as an alternative to incarceration and in lieu of paying court costs. The projects are led by 57 Court Services Coordinators who have been trained to use evidence based intervention techniques as well as model pro-social behaviors which studies have shown result in a reduction in recidivism among probationers. Community Service maintains a statewide active fleet of 57 transit vehicles. 

“The average number of court and center pick-ups per day averages anywhere from 37 to 40 round-trips to and from project sites,” said Community Service Statewide Supervisor David Skocik.

Community Service’s newest additions to the fleet allows for the replacement of four 2003 Girardin Minibuses, according to Skocik. Each of the 57 vehicles across the state—many of which are 2006 and 2007 mini vans—are assigned to each of the 57 Court Services Coordinators across the Commonwealth. Coordinators pick up participants at pre-arranged court and Community Corrections Center locations, according to Skocik.

Among the safety features of the new “Oxford White colored vehicles with pewter color interior” are dual driver and passenger seat-mounted front airbags, second and third row airbags, lap and shoulder safety belts, a back-up camera, as well as “Roll Stability Control (RSC), an electronic stability system that improves vehicle control on all driving surfaces, including snow, ice, gravel, rain-covered roads, and dry pavement.

The Office of Community Corrections (OCC) operates the Community Service Program. Community Corrections is a division of the Massachusetts Probation Service. In addition to the transit vans, OCC provides transportation support for participants which include bus and train passes, according to Community Corrections Director Vincent Lorenti.

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Media Contact   for Community Service purchases new vans to upgrade fleet and meet probationers’ transportation needs

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