Men and women on probation in the city of West Warwick have been invited to attend an informational forum in Town Council chambers on Tuesday, July 14th, at 3 p.m. Coordinated by the RIDOC’s Kent County Probation Office, the event will bring together the RIDOC’s partners in law enforcement and community service agencies to provide useful information to assist probationers in complying with the conditions of their probation and decrease the likelihood that they will re-offend. In addition to adult Probation, the West Warwick Police Department, West Bay Community Action, the West Warwick Senior and Community Center, Network RI, and the Kent Center, will all have representatives at the forum.
Staff from Probation will discuss conditions of probation, probation fees, interstate travel and relocation, and office protocol when reporting to probation. Personnel from partner agencies will talk about basic services such as substance abuse and mental health treatment available in the community and employment programs and resources. Corrections Director A.T. Wall and West Warwick Police Chief Villa will attend and share brief remarks with attendees.
RIDOC statistics show that of almost 28,000 probationers in the state of Rhode Island, there were 858 men and women on probation and parole in West Warwick at the end of 2008, making it the sixth highest concentration of probationers in the state behind Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Warwick, and Cranston. The forum is similar to others regularly being offered in the cities of Providence (Districts 2 and 7), Newport, Warwick, and Westerly, with others in the planning stages.
This event is not open to the public. Members of the press interested in covering the forum should contact Tracey E. Zeckhausen, Chief of Information and Public Relations for the RIDOC, at (401) 462-2609.