July 11, 2008

 FCSO Jail Break 5K Road Race/Walk and Kids Fun Run

Click here for details and registration information.
 

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February 5, 2008

FCSO 4TH ANNUAL GOLF OUTING

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office will hold its Fourth Annual Four-Person Scramble Golf Outing on Monday May 12^th, 2008 at the Country Club of Greenfield.  The event will benefit Warm the Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing new winter clothing for needy children.

The $300 team fee will include greens fee, cart, food and prizes.  Participation is limited to the first thirty-six teams.  Payment is needed in advance to reserve a foursome. This event has SOLD OUT early in previous years.  Please download and send in your registration form no later than May 1st.

We are currently seeking individuals and businesses for sponsorship.  Green and tee sponsorships are available for 50.  Items donated for the raffle are also welcome.

Please make all checks payable to the Franklin County Deputy Sheriffs' Association and mail to:  Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, ATTN:  Golf Outing, 160 Elm Street, Greenfield, MA  01301.

Have questions or need additional information?  Contact Doni Beauregard at (413) 774-4014 ext. 2161 or email doni.beauregard@fcs.state.ma.us

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August 5, 2005

GROUND BREAKING FOR THE NEW FRANKLIN COUNTY JAIL

"The last time Franklin County had a ground-breaking for a new jail, it was only 10 years after Custer's last stand," modern-day Sheriff Frederick Macdonald said yesterday to an amused audience for yesterday's ceremony for a long-anticipated jail.

About 100 people gathered to celebrate the $35.4 million construction project, which actually began in late February.  That price is up from the initial cost set two years ago as $25 million, Macdonald said, due to inflation and a few changes, such as to the proposed roof.  Foundations of the four connected buildings are visible.  Construction should be complete by November, said Mark C. Nelson, deputy commissioner of the state's Department of Construction and Asset Management.

The new one-story jail will house up to 288 inmates, compared to the current intended capacity of 114.  It will have a modern locking system and other state-of-the-art security design features.

The new jail will have more office space for correction professionals to work, Macdonald said.  This is expected to improve the jail's efforts to improve the life-skills of inmates before they return to society.  Currently, the jail offers programs in literacy, job training, substance abuse counseling and anger management.

Jail officials are also working on an application for a federal grant to renovate the old sheriff's quarters in the old jail, to be used as transitional housing for inmates preparing to leave, the jail's chief of staff David Lanoie said.

The existing three-story brick jail was built in 1886.  Today it stands as a reminder of its Victorian/Gothic Revival era.  Its strategic location with a broad view overlooking escape routes over the hills and Interstate 91 is still relevant today, jail officials noted yesterday.

State Senator Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, recalled his first trip to the jail after he was elected 13 years ago.

"I tried to keep a poker face as I walked through, because I was in absolute shock," he said.

The brick cells are only 48 square feet, compared to the new cells, which will be 80 square feet.  Prisoners peer out from the dark cells that look more like closets.  For many years, they had no toilets in the cells.

"The people who were incarcerated and the people who worked there, I felt, were facing absolute disaster if anything happened, such as a fire," Rosenberg recalled thinking.

Still it took 13 years after Macdonald was elected on the campaign for a new jail, to get one.  The state would promise the money, and then withdraw it at the last minute, usually for a construction project in the eastern part of the state, Macdonald has said.

State Representative Christopher Donelan, D-Orange, spoke about his experience as a probation officer working in an antiquated and cramped jail.

"Everything that we do to provide a leg up for our folks who have a drug abuse problem or addiction or an anger management problem or a mental health problem, it was always the weak link," he said.

State Senator Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, praised the Franklin County legislative delegation, in particular Rosenberg, for what he called pit bull tenacity in keeping the jail project alive.

Breaking ground for a new Franklin County Jail are, from left, Mark C. Nelson, deputy commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management; Sheriff Frederick Macdonald; state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg; state Rep. Christopher Donelan; state Sen. Stephen Brewer, and; Regina Curtis, Assistant to state Rep. Stephen Kulik.

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November 25, 2004

BUILDER PICKED FOR COUNTY JAIL

Fontaine Brothers Inc. of Springfield has won the contract to build the Franklin County Jail.  The company had submitted a bid of $28,317,000.  Two other companies had submitted bids according to a Division of Capital Asset Management spokesman.

Sheriff Frederick B. Macdonald said he expects Fontaine Brothers to sign the contract within two weeks after studying the details.  "We're one step closer to groundbreaking," said Macdonald.

The new jail will rise next to the current jail on Elm Street and will have 96,000 square feet, 144 cells, and will house 288 prisoners.  Built in 1886, the original jail was designed to house up to 63 inmates, and got a modular addition several years ago to bring its capacity to 110.  The inmate population during the past two years has fluctuated between 175 and 205.

Fontaine Brothers had been named contractor for the project last year, only to have state funding for the jail put on hold because of economic conditions.  A new selection process was held this year after the money was freed up.

Preliminary work on the project could start by the end of January, and construction would move into high gear in the spring, with completion in 2006.

Officials have not decided the fate of the old jail, but it is unlikely that it will get torn down because of its historic stature.  One program it might house is job release, serving as a base for inmates preparing for their re-entry into society, something the current facility has no space to provide.

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September 24, 2004

SHERIFF'S OFFICE STAFF PARTICIPATE IN SUNSHINE FUND BENEFIT FOR CHILDREN

On Friday, September 24th, several employees and friends of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office participated in a golf tournament hosted by the Hampden County Sheriff's Office. The tournament was held at Franconia Country Club in East Longmeadow, MA and raised money for Hampden county's Sunshine Fund to benefit children.
 

From Left to Right: Ken Hubbard, Forbes Byron, Nick Carme and Mike Larabee

From Left to Right: Bob Haughey, Tim Waldron, Jon LaBelle and Gerry Powling

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September 1, 2004

2ND FCSO TRAINING ACADEMY GRADUATES SIX

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office will observe its second  Training Academy Graduation exercises on Wednesday, September 1st. 

"This is a wonderful achievement for our staff," Sheriff Macdonald said.  "After several years of hard work by members of the staff, our curriculum was submitted and certified by the Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association and Education Training Committee."

Until last year, Franklin County officers had to go to either Hampshire or Hampden County for basic recruit training.  Under guidelines adopted by the Massachusetts sheriffs, individual counties cannot offer basic recruit training in corrections or law enforcement until they comply with MSAETC standardized curriculum developed for training sheriff's office staff.  The program currently runs for eight weeks and provides training in areas that are pertinent, practical and essential for effectively preparing the recruits to fulfill their responsibilities as professionals at the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.

Wednesday's ceremony will recognize the following individuals:  Justin C. Chapin, Thomas L. McDonald, Becky M. Paciorek, Donna R. Pedigo, Christopher R. Pettengill, and Jamie L. Poremba.

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August 13, 2004

STATE COMMITS TO GREENFIELD JAIL SITE

The conference table at the Franklin County Jail was filled with construction contractors who went last week to see the site of a $25 million project, a new jail.  It will be the first new jail at the site since the current one was built around 1886.

Staffers from the state Department of Capital Asset Management assured the dozen construction managers and designers from all over New England that the state is committed to building in Greenfield this time.

Several years ago, money for the project dried up at the last minute after the Sheriff from Barnstable County submitted a request for more staff.  This came after four contractors had already submitted their estimates for the project.  "You guys are going to be the first ones on the street because we need to spend money," said a DCAM official. 

Bids are due in by October 28.  "The state expects construction to commence around January," said jail Assistant Superintendent, Ray Brown.  "This means that the county and the town could have a new jail in two years."

What about the old jail - the multi-storied brick building that looks a bit like an institution from a Charles Dickens novel?  Due to its historic value, the state is not removing the building that many consider a financial burden.  Instead, contractors will be building and working around the old structure with the inmates still there.  The old jail may be used by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is stretched these days housing illegal aliens.  It may also be used someday for pre-release programs for inmates.  The old jail houses 188 inmates; the new one will house 288.

The new jail will wrap around the north and west side of the old one.  It will be constructed of an as-yet undetermined pre-case material, probably some type of textured concrete.  While its interior will be divided into four so-called pods, its exterior will look like connecting rectangles.  It will be discreet and obscured behind the old jail, whose future use is undecided.

In order to build the jail, contractors will have to remove antique barns at the rear that are in spectacularly good condition, considering that the oldest and largest is about 100 years old.  Until recently, inmates raised vegetables and cattle, and slaughtered their own meat.  One hundred years of inmate maintenance has kept them in pristine condition.

What happens to the barns is up to whichever contractor gains the bid.  At the scene, some said it is possible to move barns, even those as large as the oldest one.  Much of the extensive green pastures behind the old jail will be taken up with the new jail.  However, a wide outer perimeter is protected because of wetlands and such endangered species as wood turtles.

The old jail and the new one allow all three levels of security from maximum to minimum.  Called "podular," its new design is intended to limit the number of inmates congregating at any one time or place.  It also limits how much time inmates and jail staffers spend moving inmates from one function to another, leaving more time for such pursuits as education and substance abuse treatment.

The full cost of the project is currently set at almost $33 million.  This includes the design costs, already incurred, contingency money added, and furnishing expenses.

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July 27, 2004

SHERIFF ANNOUNCES RECIDIVISM NUMBERS

The number of inmates who serve time in the Franklin County House of Correction and then return to the Jail is the lowest in the state according to statistics released by Sheriff Fred Macdonald.  “Across the state, recidivism – or the rate at which prisoners return to jail – is 44% to 52%, while in Franklin County it is 29.4%,” the Sheriff said.

The statistics are based on a study of incarceration records at the House of Correction from January 1, 1995 through July 1, 2004.  During that period, 1,638 individuals were sentenced to the House of Correction.  During the same period, 482 of the original group were sentenced again within three years of release.  1,156 individuals did not return to the House of Correction.  Therefore, the recidivism rate for Franklin County for the past 9 ½ years has run at 29.4%.  Of the 482 individuals who returned to Jail, 65% returned for a second time; 21% had three incarcerations; 9% had four, and; 4% had five. 

Sheriff Macdonald attributed the below average recidivism rate to several inmate programs.  “At the House of Correction, we have strong vocational, educational and treatment programs that helps prepare inmates for re-entry.”  One example of treatment cited by the Sheriff is the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program, or R.S.A.T.  “R.S.A.T. is a six-month to one-year program for chemically dependent inmates who want to address their addiction and end the revolving door of incarceration that addiction brings them,” the Sheriff said.  The R.S.A.T. program has strict eligibility guidelines, which include completion of substance abuse education group training, HIV classes and consistent attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

R.S.A.T. Instructor Joe Chromey said that his focus is holistic in nature.  “I want participants to experience total recovery, and that means physical, mental, emotional and spiritual healing,” Chromey said.  Although not required by the state grant which funds R.S.A.T, Chromey follows up with his ‘students’ after they leave jail with a questionnaire and phone calls.  “Often times, R.S.A.T graduates contact me first to let me know how they are doing,” Chromey said.  “Obviously, it is rewarding when they say they are still clean and disappointing when they are not, but most of the feedback is positive.”

During the last week in July, officials from the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety, the agency which funds the R.S.A.T. grant, will be on-site at the Jail to conduct its annual site- visit and interview of program participants.  “We welcome the visits because we have a motivated instructor and motivated participants.  The folks from Boston want to know whether the grant money is well spent,” the Sheriff said.

Instructor Joe Chromey with RSAT students.

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June 15, 2004 

Sheriff and School Superintendent Kick-Off Child Safety Partnership

Sheriff Fred Macdonald and Greenfield School Superintendent Joseph Ruscio recently announced a new program aimed at promoting child safety.  In the program, which began Tuesday, June 1^st, the Sheriff’s Office offered its Child I.D. Program to all students in Greenfield schools from kindergarten through eighth grade.  The Child I.D. Program provides digital pictures, fingerprints, and other vital information for parents to utilize if a child is lost or abducted.  The program is provided at no cost to either the school department or parents.  A description of the program and permission slips were distributed to all Greenfield elementary and middle school students within the past month. 

“Based upon the number of permission slips that were returned, we were able to provide ID packets to over 600 Greenfield families,” the Sheriff said.  Superintendent Ruscio said that partnering with the Sheriff’s Office adds a new dimension to safety programming for Greenfield students. “The Child I.D. Program will be the first step in a series of programs that the Sheriff’s Office will be providing in the schools.  Sometime in the fall, we are planning to introduce the RAD and kidRAD programs utilizing Sheriff’s Office certified instructors,” Ruscio said.

RAD, or Rape Aggression Defense, will be provided for female students at the High School, and is aimed at providing women with the tools necessary to resist sexual aggression.  KidRAD, or Resisting Aggression Defensively, provides children of both genders with information and skills for staying safe, avoiding abduction, and escaping from potentially dangerous situations.

Sheriff Macdonald said that he looks forward to the opportunity to enhance the safety initiatives already in place in the Greenfield schools.  “ The Greenfield Police Department does a terrific job providing DARE instruction and school resource officers within the schools.  We are excited about the opportunity to complement their efforts,” the Sheriff said.

Ruscio said, “The involvement of parents, public safety agencies, and school officials creates a triangle that makes the safety of our children a top priority for all of us…it’s like Triad for kids.”

Fifth grade students at North Parish School with their Child ID packets.

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