By Deborah Burke Henderson
Contributing Writer
BILLERICA – During his interview with then Governor Deval Patrick for the position of Middlesex County Sheriff, Peter J. Koutoujian stated, “A jail is not a fortress on a hill, it is part of a community.” And at the Middlesex Jail and House of Correction in this town at the northern end of the county, he has put that philosophy to work.
Over the years, Sheriff Koutoujian and his team have worked to provide incarcerated individuals with the tools and resources necessary for successful in-house rehabilitation and release. He said his staff takes pride in preparing offenders for reentry into society by providing comprehensive risk assessments and individualized treatment, educational, and vocational plans.
As a prosecutor, legislator, professor, and law enforcement leader, Koutoujian has worked on the leading issues in public safety and public health throughout his career. He holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Bridgewater State University, a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, a law degree from the New England School of Law.
Early political experience
While a state representative, Koutoujian (D-10th Middlesex District) oversaw Massachusetts’ healthcare priorities as chairman of the Committee on Health Care. He advocated for families and frontline workers on issues of mental health, school nutrition, nursing, opioid and tobacco use, suicide awareness, domestic violence prevention, pandemic response, crime profiteering, rape by fraud, and more.
He also created and led the state’s first Commission on Oxycontin and Other Drug Abuse as well as the Commission to End Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities just as these issues were beginning to emerge as crises in public health.
His relationships with medical professionals, advocates, and those with lived experience helped drive legislation that made Massachusetts a national leader in healthcare, and inspired the philosophy of service he brought to the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (MSO).
Public safety through the lens of public health
“While serving in the legislature, I gained the knowledge that I currently apply to my work,” Koutoujian stated, adding, “I look at public safety through the lens of public health.”
As sheriff, Koutoujian’s use of specialty units has reimagined the correctional landscape, and his commitment to innovation in correctional programming won him recognition as 2023 Sheriff of the Year by the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA) at their winter conference in February.
By targeting treatment towards unique populations such as young adults and military veterans, these programs have directly and substantially reduced recidivism in their participants. These results have been published in academic journals, featured by national news outlets, and labeled as best practices by multiple presidential administrations.
“I’m sort of known as a data guy,” Koutoujian admitted. “I have always said, ‘Vision without good data is just a hallucination and you are flying blind. Collaboration with academic and research partners works well.’”
Koutoujian’s commitment to data-driven research has made these innovative programs and their results replicable across the country.
New specialty unit for older adults
“We’re launching a revolutionary unit with older adults right now called Older Adults Reentry, or OAR for short,” Koutoujian stated. “We’re excited about its inception and mission as this will be more and more necessary as boomers are aging.”
Over the past two years, Koutoujian and staff have worked in close partnership with UMass and its Gerontology Institute at the John. W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies to research and survey the MSO’s data and its population which is comprised of 14 percent older Americans (50 and over).
“Prisons across the country typically provide only geriatric care,” Koutoujian noted. “We could not find any units with a therapeutic and programming aspect in mind.”
OAR will offer programming to meet the therapeutic, physical, and mental health needs of about thirty individuals, aged 55 and older, and provide a bridge to resources which will continue to serve those individuals whenever they reenter their communities.
The Institute is also helping lay out plans for the facility, even down to the details of wall paint resulting from color psychology research and the type and height of bed and mattress that will best suit aging adults. Additionally, professionals with the Boston University Department of Occupational Therapy are providing cognitive and occupational therapies specifically designed for this population.
“A unique population coupled with unique programming gets unique results,” Koutoujian stated. “We can back up every success story with data.”
Community programs to protect the vulnerable
The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office is teaming up with community partners including senior centers and local police offices to provide L.E.A.R.N., a scam prevention and awareness presentation program, across the county. Its goal is to alert the public to be aware of ongoing arrest scams in the area. If an individual receives a call from someone posing as an MSO officer or staff member and requesting funds, the public is instructed to disconnect the call and report the incident immediately to the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office at 978-667-1711. Ask to speak to a member of the Inner Perimeter Security [IPS] team.
People with cognitive difficulties who are prone to wandering and becoming lost may be enrolled in the SafetyNet Bracelet program, a partnership among the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, the Hudson police department, and the LoJack company. Twenty members of the MSO have been trained by LoJack employees to operate search and rescue receivers that detect the radio frequencies emitted by a SafetyNet Bracelet worn by those enrolled in the service. The receivers and the training are provided to the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office at no cost to taxpayers. The SafetyNet service supplements traditional search and rescue procedures.
Strong team
“I never thought of being sheriff,” Koutoujian admitted, adding, “I was just prepared for the job when the position opened up.”
Koutoujian credits the MSO’s success to his hardworking, mission-driven team of professionals. He said they have a consistent focus on professional excellence, research, collaboration, and innovation, and an intentional commitment to design programming with engagement of the population involved so their needs and concerns may be addressed.
“I have a great job, and my work family is incredible,” Koutoujian stated. “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Other service and recognition
Besides serving the 54 cities and towns in Middlesex County, the most populous county in Massachusetts and New England, Koutoujian said he proudly works with several national organizations on issues essential to public health and safety. He serves on the board of directors for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s First Responder Network Authority, the executive committee for the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, and the advisory board for the States United Democracy Center.
Koutoujian has also earned honors as one of the nation’s most prominent Armenian-American officials, including the U.S. Ellis Island Medal of Honor as well as the Mkhitar Gosh Medal and Medal of Gratitude from the Armenian government.
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