MICHAEL G. BELLOTTI

Norfolk County Sheriff

Michael G. Bellotti, 46, was elected High Sheriff of Norfolk County on Nov. 3, 1998. He was officially sworn in on Jan. 6, 1999. He ran unopposed in November 2004 and began serving his second six-year term in January 2005. He is the 18th Sheriff of Norfolk County.

As Norfolk County’s highest ranking public safety official, Sheriff Bellotti is responsible for the safe, secure and humane custody of more than 700 criminal offenders in Dedham’s house of correction and pre-release center, as well as the Electronic Incarceration Program in Quincy.

Sheriff Bellotti also operates the Braintree Public Safety Complex, where he runs many of his community programs for youth and senior citizens. It is also the location for staff training and the Sheriff’s Youth Leadership Academy, Future Captains Basketball Academy and After School Program. The Sheriff’s Civil Process Office is also located at the Braintree site.

During his second term in office, Sheriff Bellotti launched three major public safety initiatives. The first is a detailed list of Level 3 sex offenders on his website, www.norfolksheriff.com. In addition to viewing the information, Norfolk County residents may also register through the website to receive a Personal Email Notification every time a Level 3 sex offender takes up residence or becomes employed in their community. Sheriff Bellotti is the first in the state to offer such a service.

The second initiative is Project Lifesaver, a national search-and-rescue program that now operates in 39 states. Sheriff Bellotti is the statewide coordinator for Massachusetts. Project Lifesaver is a program that dispatches highly trained search and rescue units to find reported missing persons, usually those with Alzheimer’s and other related conditions such as autism and Down syndrome who may wander and become lost. Those in the program wear a device that emits a personalized radio signal that is picked up by search and rescue teams using mobile tracking equipment. Ten people were successfully found and returned to safety during the first three years of the program. Additionally, the Sheriff’s staff has trained Project Lifesaver teams in 32 Massachusetts communities and nine out-of-state communities.

The third initiative is the Sheriff’s Repeat Offender Public Safety Initiative, which classifies every repeat offender as soon as they come into the house of correction. Those offenders are held to a new standard, which requires them to take part in re-entry programming that brings outside agencies such as Probation, Parole, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and local police into the planning and transition process. Every repeat offender is reported to the community from which he came and is tracked in the community upon release. Structure and accountability are stressed both during and after commitment to the house of correction.

Sheriff Bellotti continues to provide strong community outreach in other areas as well. His Youth Leadership Academy in Braintree had 900 participants in 2008, up from 250 its first year in 2002. The academy builds confidence, positive attitudes and social skills in youth, ages 10 to 14. Most of the youth are referred to the academy by local DARE Officers. The Academy operates one of the largest Ropes Courses in New England as part of its adventure-based education curriculum. The Sheriff also runs the Future Captains Basketball Academy, which develops and emphasizes leadership traits among young boys and girls. He also offers an After School Program for middle school students.

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