News  Moroccan criminal justice leaders visit the Massachusetts Probation Service to observe alternatives to incarceration and supervision practices

A delegation of a dozen legal and criminal justice professionals from the North African country of Morocco traveled to the U.S. last week for a visit with the Massachusetts Probation Service (MPS) to observe best practices in supervision, alternatives to incarceration, and the Massachusetts Judicial Court system.

Hosted by MPS, the delegation included five members of the Ministry of Justice, one member of the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor, two members of the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power, and four support staff.

The delegation included: Aziz Azzouzi, Head of the Unit for Monitoring the implementation of Conditional Release Decision; Ayoub Aboujaafar, Head of the Criminal Policy Division; Hicham Mellati, Director of Criminal Affairs, Pardons and Crime Detection; Malak Rogui, judge; Ahmed Quali Alami, President of the Monitoring Unit for Public Action and the Implementation of Criminal Policy; Hakim Ouardi, President of the Criminal Justice Division; Hassan Jabir, Chief Judge of the Criminal Court of First Instance in Casablanca; El Hassania Ziat; Loubna Bouhdid, Country Representative; and Mohammed Bouzlafa, Legal Expert.

The Study Visit was part of a U.S. Department of State-funded program implemented by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) which has been in place since October 2024. 

“On behalf of the Massachusetts Probation Service and the Massachusetts Trial Court, we were happy to welcome the Moroccan delegation who observed and examined our work in the courts and communities which serves as a model of success in community supervision,” said Probation Commissioner Pamerson O. Ifill.

The group met with Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi Brieger and Court Administrator Thomas Ambrosino at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston on Thursday. Chief Justice Brieger and Court Administrator Ambrosino were part of a panel that provided an overview of the Massachusetts Courts, sentencing, and featured panelists Juvenile Court Chief Justice Dana M. Gershengorn, Charlestown District Court First Justice Lisa Grant, and Wendy Lement, Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) Director of Education & Public Programs. 

“The reform and rehabilitation in Massachusetts provides all of the indicators of success. There is a strong will and conviction. We have all felt it with Probation and the judges,” said Hicham Mellati, Director of Criminal Affairs-Pardons/Crime in Morocco.

Mr. Mallati’s comments—spoken in Arabic— were translated by Kamal Jalid of AR Communicate.

Over the past few years, the Kingdom of Morocco initiated criminal justice reforms that allow for the first-ever implementation of alternative penalties, including daily fines, community service, electronic monitoring, and other rehabilitative remedies (professional or educational training, psychological counseling, addiction treatment, etc.), according to Executive Director of the Office of Community Corrections Vincent Lorenti. 

The U.S. tour also included visits to courthouses, a Community Justice Support Center, group meetings and discussions on topics such as “Superior Court and Alternatives to Incarceration.”

Among the tour stops were the Office of the Commissioner of Probation; the Brockton Community Justice Support Center; Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, Department of Corrections, the John Adams Courthouse, Social Law Library in Boston, and the Massachusetts Probation Service Training Academy (MTOC). 

The group met with Massachusetts District Court Chief Justice Stacey Fortes and Lowell District Court Chief Probation Officer Steven Mastandrea. The delegation also had a meeting with SJC Justice Gabrielle Wolojohian.

The delegation attended a panel discussion at the Brockton CJSC where they observed a panel discussion, “Introduction to a Community Justice Support Center,” featuring Mr. Lorenti; Angela Orlandi, OCC Program Manager; Dara Drawbridge, PH.D, UMass-Chan Medical School; Brockton District Court First Justice Michael Vitali; Brockton District Chief Probation Officer Michael Branch; Brockton District Assistant Chief Probation Officer Michelle Rawdon;  Old Colony YMCA Vice-President Amanda Trask; and Reentry Service Coordinator JC Jones Anderson.

The visitors were also introduced to Massachusetts Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Shawn Jenkins; DOC Chief of Staff Nelson Alves; Superintendent, MCI-Norfolk Superintendent Kenneth Lizotte; as well as Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott; Norfolk Special Sheriff Chris Bell; and Norfolk Sheriff Chief of Staff Samantha Dalliare.

The group met with Parole Board Member Angelo Gomez Jr.

The delegation witnessed the Massachusetts Trial Court Community Service Program in action at the Minuteman National Historic Park and spoke with a client about her experience. They also attended MPS’ Senior Managers Conference at MTOC, where they observed MPS’ Electronic Monitoring Program on Friday.