News  MPS in the Community: Suffolk County Probation Officers help homeless along Mass and Cass remove warrants from their records and address court matters

The Probation Officers from Boston Municipal Court-Central and Suffolk Superior courts meet regularly with the individuals at the Boston Community Engagement Center to help them clear up their warrants and to inform them of other court obligations—both of which can be barriers to treatment and housing, according to John Turner, Chief Probation Officer at Boston Municipal Court (BMC)-Central Division.

Several times a month, MPS staff from BMC-Central and Suffolk Superior Court travel to the Boston Community Engagement Center, located on Atkinson Street, where they’ve met with and helped approximately 100 homeless individuals, Turner said. The Boston Community Engagement Center is a City of Boston program that is described as a “welcoming, low-threshold daytime space for individuals navigating homelessness and substance use near the intersection of Melnea Cass and Mass Ave.”

“While there has been much debate amongst stakeholders regarding the Mass/Cass issue, we here at Probation have maintained a presence down there and are focused on being part of the solution. Ultimately, this problem will be resolved by a comprehensive enforcement and treatment approach,” said Chief Turner who would like to see other courts that are dealing with a large homeless population adopt a similar approach to this community engagement project.

This MPS pilot outreach program launched during the Pandemic in December 2021. Chief Turner reached out to Suffolk Superior Chief Michael Forbes and his staff to join BMC-Central.

Chief Forbes had this to say, “I believe that probation’s presence down there has been of some help to court-involved individuals, who are struggling with their addictions and mental health issues. I believe probation has become a resource, rather than an entity to be avoided. That shift in attitude must be attributed to the hard work and dedication of those who have given their time to the program/project.”

The BMC-Central staff includes Assistant Chief Probation Officer Steve DeLuca and Probation Officers Anthony DiGangi, Jonathan Izzo, Michael Grenier, and James Griffin. BMC-Central also has Probation Officers assigned to assist clients at the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans each week. The Suffolk Superior Probation Officers involved with the Community Engagement Center include: Nancy Brophy, James Fitzgerald, and ACPO Jessica Haggerty.