Press Release  MPS observes National Probation Supervision Week 2019

Boston, MA —
The Massachusetts Probation Service (MPS) joins Probation, Pre-Trial Services, and Parole departments across the country and in Canada by observing Probation Supervision Week July 21-27 . Pre-Trial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week was created by the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) and this year’s theme is “Restoring Trust, Creativity, and Hope.”

MPS will extend its observance through Tuesday, August 1, which is National Night Out, an annual event that promotes criminal justice and community partnerships and neighborhood comradery.  MPS is the first Probation Service in the nation, having been established by shoemaker John Augustus in 1841. The agency continues to serve as a criminal justice leader and its programs and initiatives have been recognized as models for agencies across the nation and abroad.

Probation has significantly expanded its reach into communities and increased resources available to probationers and their families all while developing new approaches using evidence based practices and technology. MPS has also collaborated with criminal justice and human services agencies to offer mental health care and addiction services; residential re-entry programs for men and women leaving prison; new supervision strategies for emerging adults, ages 18-24; as well as transportation services for probationers to court, community service project sites, and MPS’s Community Corrections Centers where high-risk probationers receive educational and job training; and undergo substance use testing and counseling.

“Probation Officers work with defendants to help them address their challenges by encouraging them to get to the root of their behavior, working with them to create an individualized plan and linking them to rehabilitative and therapeutic services all while holding them accountable, much of the same core formula established by John Augustus 178 years ago,” said Massachusetts Probation Commissioner Edward J. Dolan.

There are approximately 60,000 individuals under probation supervision in Massachusetts. A total of 6,100 individuals are monitored by GPS bracelet and on SCRAM, an alcohol monitoring device that uses facial recognition technology.

MPS is one of several agencies that are working together to provide mental health care and addiction services for probationers as part of a program launched in conjunction with MassHealth. Probation also opened two new community corrections centers in Middlesex County.   MPS now has a new Pre-Trial Services Program to create statewide capacity to manage the various aspects of comprehensive Pre-Trial Services in order to reduce failure to appear rates, reduced reliance on cash bail and provide supports and services for individuals in the Pre-Trial phase of cases that can lead to effective prosecution diversion or improved outcomes post sentencing.

Probation’s Victim Services Unit notifies the victims and survivors of crime to inform them of a defendant's upcoming court date. Victim Services Coordinators also work with victims and survivors to ensure their right to be present and have their voices heard, according to Corinn Nelson, Statewide Manager of the Unit. The Unit has served 4,588 new and 6,122 ongoing victims and survivors of crime over the past year.

As part of the Massachusetts Trial Court’s Community Service Program, probationers perform approximately 200,000 community service hours statewide as an alternative to incarceration and in lieu of paying court costs. Offenders are transported from the centers or courts to the project sites where they perform a range of tasks—both traditional and non-traditional. This work includes trash pick-up along streets and highways; set-up of classrooms for the school year by moving furniture and painting walls; building cages for oyster seeds at state fisheries; stocking and distributing food at local food pantries; and set-up of 1,000’s of chairs and tables for community concerts and events. This work has also led to full-time employment for many offenders.

In addition to resources provided by the courts, Probation Officers promote accountability and law-abiding behavior among individuals appearing before the court through Parenting Programs, such as the Fatherhood and Mothers Programs. There are also the Drug Courts, Mental Health Courts, Gun Courts, a Veterans Court, a Homeless Court, and a Family Court which are examples of initiatives designed, implemented, and or coordinated by Probation Officers in collaboration with the judiciary and community agencies.

MPS is a division of the Massachusetts Trial Court where there is a probation department in each of the statewide courts which includes five court divisions: the Boston Municipal Courts (8); District (62); Superior (12); Juvenile (11); and Probate & Family (12) courts.

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