Contacts
Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office
467 Cheshire Road
Pittsfield, MA, 01201
Triad Contact: Diane Maynes, Assistant Deputy Superintendent
(413) 443-7220 ext. 1102
Email: diane.maynes@sdb.state.ma.us
Berkshire District Attorney’s Office
Contact: Julia Sabourin
Director of Community Engagement & Communication
7 North Street
Pittsfield, MA, 01201
Phone: 413-449-5773
Email: julia.sabourin@mass.gov
National Association of Triads, Inc.
1450 Duke Street
Alexandria, Virginia, 22314
Phone: 703-836-7837
Fax: 703-519-8567
Email: triad@sheriffs.org
Web site: www.nationaltriad.org
Berkshire Triad Meeting Dates
Dalton
Third Wednesday each month
Dalton Senior Center
40 Field St. Extension, 1:00 p.m.
Alford/Great Barrington/Egremont
Second Wednesday each month
Claire Teague Senior Center
909 Main St., Great Barrington, 2:00 p.m.
Lenox
Second Monday each odd-numbered month
Community Center
65 Walker Street, 10:00 a.m.
North Adams
Fourth Wednesday each month
Mary Spitzer Center
116 Ashland Street, 12:30 p.m.
Pittsfield
First Tuesday each month
Froio Senior Center
330 North Street, 9:30 a.m.
Tyringham
Meets quarterly – second Tuesday of the month
Union Church
11:30 a.m.
What is Triad?
Triad is a community policing initiative involving seniors, law enforcement and service providers to increase safety through education and crime prevention. It’s goals are:
- to reduce criminal activity which targets older Americans.
- to alleviate seniors’ fear of becoming a victim, build confidence and improve the quality of life.
- to enhance delivery of law enforcement services to older persons.
The S.A.L.T. Council
(Seniors and Law Enforcement Together)
Triad on the community level is implemented
by a S.A.L.T. Council that may include:
- Seniors
- Police, Sheriff and the District Attorney
- Council on Aging director
- Protective services personnel
- Representatives of other community and civic groups.
The S.A.L.T. Council determines the needs of the community’s senior population as they relate to crime prevention and safety awareness, and coordinates activities to meet those needs.
What Do Triads Do?
- Empower — Give seniors leadership on the S.A.L.T. Council to determine its direction.
- Educate — Gather information on criminal activity and sponsor crime prevention workshops and other programs; provide social service resources.
- Communicate — Provide a forum for law enforcement and the community to share needs and concerns – and develop solutions.
- Forge Links — Unite seniors, law enforcement and senior service agencies to identify problem areas for seniors in Berkshire County and develop community-wide solutions.
What Can Result?
Seniors can gain from regular contact with law enforcement agencies, direct involvement with crime prevention strategies and awareness of available services.
Law Enforcement gains from more contact with seniors, better awareness of seniors’ crime-related fears, more understanding of the human service field and increased respect for the agencies by members of the community.
Human Service Providers gain from improved distribution of services, more cooperation with other providers and better understanding of law enforcement and the challenges it faces.
Why Triad?
Older Americans are the most rapidly growing segment of our population. One in every eight Americans is already 65 or older, a total of more than 33 million senior citizens. This increased life expectancy has created new issues and problems for the criminal justice system as most communities experience a dramatic increase in the number of older persons.
Triad assesses the needs of each community separately. A community may have serious crime problems, which will lead Triad to focus on crime prevention and victim assistance.
In a community where senior citizens are not targets of crimes, Triad may concentrate on reassurance programs, law enforcement training or involving volunteers within the law enforcement agencies.