News  Plymouth Community Justice Support Center to host Grand re-opening and ribbon-cutting

Plymouth, MA — MEDIA ADVISORY

The Office of Community Corrections is a division of the Massachusetts Probation Service.

This ceremony will feature remarks by Recovery Court Presiding Justice John Julian, Massachusetts Trial Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Locke, Massachusetts Probation Commissioner Edward Dolan, and Bay State Community Services Executive Director Daurice Cox. A former center participant will also reflect on his recovery journey. The ceremony and ribbon-cutting will be followed by a tour of the 6,500-square-foot facility.

The Support Centers, an alternative to prison, were credited in a University of Pennsylvania (UPENN) study for reducing recidivism rates by up to 36 percent among probationers who attend. This success is measured by the reduction in arraignments for clients within one year of them being referred or sentenced to a center.

“The grand re-openings mark the addition of an important resource to the work of the Trial Court and the Massachusetts Probation Service in serving the supervision, rehabilitation and public safety needs of communities across the Commonwealth. The centers provide a critical service hub for a variety of criminal justice populations, including Probation, Pretrial, sentenced and re-entry caseloads; but, also paroled and DOC (Department of Corrections) and HOC (House of Corrections) discharge populations,’’ said Massachusetts Probation Service Commissioner Edward Dolan.

There are currently 19 Support Centers in the Commonwealth with two in development in Haverhill and Lynn. Grand re-openings have already taken place at the Boston, Taunton, Northampton, Springfield, and Lawrence Support Centers. A Grand re-opening is also scheduled for the Brockton center.

Vincent Lorenti, OCC Director, said of the grand re-opening, “The Community Justice Support Centers are about making the community stronger. This center will make a difference by giving people that come before the court—because of bad decision making and struggles with substance use disorder—the opportunity to change their lives through treatment, education, employment, and accountability.”