InFocus featuring Hampden DA Anthony Gulluni

from the 22 News Plus studio. This is 22 News in Focus with Patrick Barry. >> Hello everyone and welcome to this edition of In Focus. I am your host Patrick Barry. It is my quarterly visit with Hampton County District Attorney Anthony Galoon. He's across the desk from me today. District Attorney, thank you so very much for coming in. I appreciate your time. >> So pleased to be here. Thanks for having me. So, uh, I'm assuming you've had a busy few months since we saw you last. There's a lot always a lot going on in in your office. I think one of the bigger things that that you love to talk about is the community outreach. >> If I recall correctly, uh, back at the beginning of December, you had an EH the acronym EEH EAC um, program graduation in December. >> Just briefly review what what the EH program is. >> Yeah, it's called our emerging adult court of hope and each is the acronym for short. Um, you know, when we developed this, it was really finding a way to sort of divert people who uh are facing very serious charges in jail time, young people, emerging adults, 18 to 24 years old. Um, and we developed this court about 6 years ago, and now we have 15 graduates, 15 changed lives, 15 young people who were facing felony convictions in jail. And now through our program, which is intensive and difficult for these young people, but it really reshapes them, right? And one of the focal points is a career at the end of it because if they just end up with another job at the end of this, right, they're going to go back to the streets. They're going to go back to fast money, drugs, and so forth. So, what are some of those careers that they're getting into versus just getting another job? >> Yeah, I mean, it's it's varied. I mean, some have gone to college uh and and working on various degrees. We've had a young man uh two people actually get HVAC certificates and work in that industry, which is a great one, right? you can get great salaries and lots of work there. Uh CDL licenses for driving tractor trailers. We've had a couple individuals do that. Another great career where six figure salaries are commonplace. Uh we have people get into counseling whether it's uh around addiction and so forth or working with other young people. So and really quality careers where people's lives are changed. You know, it's interesting to hear those careers. If you think about each one of those, and I know there are many, many more, >> they're all sort of um resistant to uh robots, AI, you know, AI, you know, currently can't drive a truck or, you know, do your HVAC, you know, so it's it's nice to see that they're getting careers in fields that they're there for the long term. Listen, our society needs people to work hard and do the right thing, right? In these industries, there's there's frankly more jobs than there are people willing to take them. So, you know, it's a there's a there's a double benefit. We're changing young lives and giving people opportunities to provide for their families and have a bright future, but we're also feeding into an economy that needs people to drive trucks and and to do this kind of work. Now, through the each program, you you I think of some of those some of those individuals, they come from home life situations that really aren't the best. through the each program, are they educated on how to get away from that environment so that they're not drawn back into criminal activity? Very much so. Yeah. Our partner Roa does incredible work. They're with these kids 17 hours a day practically all all the time throughout the course of the program teaching life skills, teaching behavior modification, teaching how to deal with stress, anger management, teaching people how to deal in domestic situations because to your point, Patrick, that's a part of the genesis of the program was these young people are born on day one of their lives in such bad circumstances, right, w with so many disadvantages and so many challenges and they see things that we didn't see. I didn't see certainly as a young person that they should never see, right? Bad examples, bad people around them, crime and and awful things. So, a lot of that is sort of unwiring some of those things and teaching them how to work and get up every day, how to treat people with respect, all these things that are built into our program to help them be successful when they're done. You know, I I look at the each program and there's, you know, that's one of what, a dozen, 15, 18 different programs that come out of your office >> to connect with the community to make us a better community. What are some of the other programs that that your office oversees? Yeah, it's an aspect of our work that maybe doesn't strike people initially about the DA's office, but it's it's some of the stuff about which I'm most proud. So, in 2025, for instance, we reached over 13,000 students in calendar year. 2025. 64 schools across Hampton County were reached by us in 2025 through my community safety and outreach programs and the team that I have that is dedicated to connecting with our community and providing education, training, and and our expertise to make young people and people of all ages more aware of the issues that are going to confront them and essentially add and build public safety in our community from really the ground level. So, some of the programs and our our newest is Horizon, H E R I Z O N, and that is designed um to really focus on challenges young women face, right? High school age uh young women, uh confidence, leadership, future planning. Um that's a program that I really had in mind for years and years and years. And we finally got something built and off the ground this year. It's been phenomenally successful. We just had a career panel in December with six local women, city councelor Tracy Whitfield, now city council president Whitfield, a business owner, medical professional, two female police officers, and a social worker to talk about their path and the challenges that they face. So, it's really amazing. I'm super proud of it. That's that's going to be successful for many years to come. Uh we have programs that run through the year where we're in schools. We were just at Birchland Park Middle School in East Long Meadow yesterday with our adopt a class program where we kind of bring in lawyers to do a mock trial and help uh teachers uh teach their kids about civics and government and the constitution >> so that they better understand what what adult life is like. >> Absolutely. Our youth advisory board is 60 high school students from across the county who work with us throughout their academic year. Uh very intensive, but they learn so much and we learn a lot from them, right? And they're telling us, hey, here's what's going on at Palmer High School. here's what's going on at Pope Francis, here's what's going on at Central and Springfield. And and then we're kind of, you know, training them to sort of be our ambassadors, our folks in the community, and they're amazing group of young people. Um, we have a lot of things coming up this spring, a lot of annual programs that I I I know that we want to talk about. Um, first and foremost, we have uh our uh uh Hoop Up Springfield program in April, which is young people coming to AIC, and it's our partnership with the college there to present them on a college campus. And for them to play threeon-ree basketball, that's kind of the hook. >> And then we get them there, and we talk to them about life skills and leadership. And we get them around college students and on the college campus to see the college campus. Um, and another thing that's a big issue, uh, it's distracted in drugged and drunk driving. Um, we have our stop to swerve annual program coming up in the spring, uh, actually in March, just in a couple of months, where we do a big, uh, program where we, uh, introduce kids to the dangers and the issues around having a license and distracted driving and drugged and drunk driving. It's an amazing evening at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. And that stop the swerve program continues throughout the year in our schools. Fantastic. We are up on our first commercial break. Stay with us because we have plenty more to come with District Attorney Anthony Galoney. >> This is 22 News in Focus with Patrick Barry. This is 22 News in Focus with Patrick Barry. Welcome back everyone to this edition of In Focus. I'm your host, Patrick Barry. Sitting across the desk from me today is Hampton County District Attorney Anthony Galoon. District Attorney, thank you for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you. Covered a lot of ground in the in the first uh segment, which is why I love having you here because there's just so much to talk about. You wouldn't think there'd be a lot to going on in the DA's office, but there there's certainly plenty. I want to shift gears a little bit into crime in in Hampton County. What is the status of criminal activity here in in the county? Is it on the rise? Are certain elements on the rise? Is everything on the decline? Talk to me about it. >> Yeah, that that's a big board of different levers, you know, and different trends. There's there's a lot of different aspects and it's regional, it's by city and town, it's by kinds of of crime, but I think by and large, I can confidently and happily say everything is is really trending downward. We had a really, frankly positive year in 2025 around homicide cases. We usually are up towards 30 across the county. Many of those happen in Springfield just based on population. Um but last year was was not bad. About half that. Uh we started off in the first half of the year for some reason really at a fast pace and then really middle of the summer which is typically the time where we see the most especially urban based murders it just stopped. So uh >> so it is cyclical based on time of year. you know, >> cyclical in in in in time of year, right? When you when you think about uh weather and people being outside and people being, you know, gathering together and and maybe enjoying drinks and those kinds of things, those things often will will sometimes lead to bad incidents. >> Um wintertime, people are inside. Sometimes you get more domestic violence based murders because of >> those situations. So, there is a cyclical aspect, but there's very much a random aspect to it, too. you know, there are a lot of lot of the murders last year um were really unpreventable and unpredictable were just sort of random instances of violence. Um so we do our best to sort of for for forecast where we're going to have problems. In past years, we've really devoted resources and mustered um the resources of the federal government, state police, and local police on certain areas that we knew were showing signs of serious violence and we wanted to prevent murders and other serious violence. Um, so we do our best to predict those things, but a lot of times it's it's just sometimes random acts of violence. >> Does I I I know Springfield has it. I don't know if any other community has what is it called? Shot spotter. Does that does that prevent things? Is that has that helped our community? >> Absolutely helped it. Springfield was one of the first in the country to get Shot Spotter 20 years ago. And that's essentially a system of speakers in certain areas that detect the very particular sound of gunshots. Sometimes there's mistakes with a car backfiring or fireworks. >> Fourth of July is not a great time for Shot Spotter. Good point. >> Um, but it will tell the police by way of a system that works very very quickly that gunshots have likely gone off at a particular address. It can be that precise, right? So, and >> the microphones just pick that up. >> Correct. Yeah. And then it'll go right to a police cruiser and the police cruiser can get there within seconds of a gunshot going off. So it doesn't necessarily prevent crime right before it happens, but it helps us solve crimes, helps us protect victims and protect communities. And there are other communities in the county. I know Holio has gotten shot spotted recently and Chickabe may or may not have it. I'm not sure, but but Springfield was one of the forerunners and it's a tremendously helpful technology and not only from a crime perspective, but it sounds the way you describe it, the immediiacy of a response by by policing units saving lives. So if somebody gets shot, time is of the essence. Absolutely. >> So you're able to save lives. >> Absolutely. Yeah. There there are many many instances where Shot Spotter goes off and police respond because of the system and there's never a 911 call. So otherwise the police wouldn't have known about an incident can certainly respond to a victim in need much more quickly. >> I want to shift gears a little bit to uh the the process of parole. So your office, you know, you convict these people, you you know, they get incarcerated for whatever period of time. What is the parole process? I've always been fascinated by parole. Are there like certain measures that somebody needs to meet or you know, you put me away for whatever crime? Like day two, can I request parole? I How does parole work? Uh I I'd use a different f-word to describe parole in my sake. And it's it's not a four-letter word. It's frustration. It's frustration because parole has really, I think, lost sight of its mission. Pearl board is a group of appointed officials by the governor um and they make these decisions. So someone gets sentenced to state prison. It's only parole only applies in state prison. There's always a range with a state prison sentence. So say 5 to 10 years. That person becomes parole eligible at that bottom number of 5 years. That person then applies for parole. It goes to the pole board and the pole board reviews that person's case file what they call D reports or discipline reports while incarcerated. what that person has done to try to try to uh you know >> improve their lives, >> improve their lives, reform themselves, etc., rehabilitate >> uh and so on and so forth and and and there'll be a parole hearing. So, a lot of times with murder cases where it's not a first-degree murder, which now is life without the possibility of parole. So, a seconddegree murder where it's 20 years to life. At that 20 years, that person is parole eligible. They'll file something. we will get notice and then we will tell the victim's family that a parole hearing is coming. Um, in my estimation as district attorney, I believe in second chances, I believe people paying their debt to society getting an opportunity to do better, right? Uh, but particularly in in situations where people are are their lives are taken, >> right? >> The parole board is releasing far too many people. Their standards have gotten far too liberal >> and uh I think it compromises public safety. There's another aspect to parole and it's called medical parole which a lot of people probably have never heard of but it's a state statute that was developed some years ago and it allows people who are terminally ill to uh or uh a permanent loss of bodily function. There's a couple different aspects to it to apply for medical parole and that's actually a decision is made by the department of corrections commissioner and there is no limit on how many times someone can apply. So that person could be serving a life sentence, killed someone. They apply. We get notice of it. We have to communicate with the victim's family to say this person's trying to get out. Yes, there was a trial. Yes, this person was committed to a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, but now they're trying to get out and they might. And now that family has to get involved. They can go to that uh hearing and and and make their feelings known. And it's obviously very traumatic for those people to keep going through that. So, our system um in my opinion, Patrick, has really begun to focus too much on the people who have committed the crimes and not the people who have suffered at the hands of people committing those crimes. >> Very good. We are up on our second break. Stay with us. There's plenty more to come. >> This is 22 News in Focus with Patrick Barry. This is 22 News in Focus with Patrick Barry. Welcome back everyone to this edition of In Focus. I'm your host, Patrick Barry. I'm very uh fortunate today to be joined across the desk by the Hampton County District Attorney, Anthony Galoon, District Attorney. Thank you again for joining me. I appreciate your time. Uh we covered the parole process uh just before we went to break. One of the other things on my mind is and and unfortunately you have to deal with it I think on a fairly common basis is extradition. Somebody commits a crime here in Hampton County and then they take off. It could be even to Connecticut. I mean just you know 5 miles down the road not even. Um or it could be to Florida, Texas, wherever. How does the extradition process work? Is does that go to the governor level or is that like you as a DA to a different DA in a different state? How does the how does extradition work? Yeah, it's a very technical process that varies from state to state actually. Uh, and it's a very commonplace thing where someone has a warrant for his arrest and they're pulled over in Florida and they say, "Oh, there's a warrant in Massachusetts." And that person's held until such time that person can be lawfully extradited. Some people flee to other states in the face of charges. They're eventually caught and the same sort of process is activated. So, let me interrupt you there for a quick question because if somebody's pulled over in another state, so there's a database somewhere that district attorneys across the country upload information on everybody. So, if they are pulled over in Florida, it it pings in that cop car that this person has wanted. >> Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. That that database is accessible to uh to all law enforcement and to police officers. And I I've never been in a police cruiser to see it, but I know how it works. They'll they'll actually be warned like if a person has a violent crime outstanding in a warrant, there'll be something there that that officer is aware that you're dealing with. So >> So they're on higher alert than just a normal traffic stop. >> Exactly. And then that then that record so to speak will show whatever the issues are. And if that is appropriate for that person to be held in in uh awaiting uh extradition that that that officer will charge them with what's called a fugitive charge. So they'll go into court in that state in that jurisdiction. So their their rights are all on display and and they're aware of the situation and we'll work with sister agencies, prosecutorial agencies in that jurisdiction and it can rise to the governor level if someone objects to the process of extradition and they usually have a lawyer and the lawyer will say this is this is a matter of course. You you are going to go back to Massachusetts and often times they wave the right to this lengthy and sort of difficult process to be extradited to face charges in Massachusetts. But if they don't, it can be several months and actually governors, each governor, the Massachusetts governor and the governor in that state will have to sign documents for that person then to finally be extradited pursuant to that lengthy process. >> Interesting. I didn't realize it could I I assume somebody gets pulled over in like Florida within a day or two, boom, they're back in Hampton County Jail. >> No, no, not not usually the case. >> Wow. All right. Switching gears to something uh more exciting going on in your office. We we talked about it very briefly early on. some of the upcoming events that are taking place. Uh you've got Hoop Up Springfield. Uh again, review with me what you've got coming up that sort of connects the DA's office with the community from an educational standpoint. >> Sure. So, the first thing is Stop the Swerve in March. That's a really fun program that actually runs out throughout the year. It's one of the menu of things that we present to young people across high schools in Hampton County about the privilege of having a license and driving a vehicle and the responsibility that comes with it, particularly around the ubiquity of cell phones and the possibility that young people, especially in the spring with graduations and proms or drinking and driving. So, stop the sword in March, the annual event, is really fun at the basketball hall of fame. We do all kinds of contests. We have all uh little exercises where people can put on goggles that simulate the feeling of being intoxicated. We have state troopers and local police there to help us out. Um it's really it's really a a spotlight on the issue of distracted drug and drunk driving. We had 83 uh fatal or near near fatal crashes in Hampton County in 2025, which is pretty high. 83. And my office goes out to those. I have specialized assistant district attorneys work on those cases and and they're obviously tragic, right? You know that these things can happen in an instant. Totally innocent people, sometimes people making a bad decision. So with stop the swerve, we're focused on getting ahead of that with young people. I have to imagine part of that conversation is also the legalization of marijuana. >> Absolutely. >> You know, I think everybody our age when you pull up to a stoplight in July, your windows are down, you smell it everywhere. And and it's it's also an educational stamp uh position for us as adults and parents and guardians to you like just like when you teach your kid how to drive. Here are the rules of the road. No question about it. Yeah. Legalization of marijuana I think a lot of people don't realize doesn't mean you can smoke and be high while you drive. You could be arrested for an OUI. >> Um so yeah, that that's that's presented a whole other dimension to to our work. The next program we have uh chronologically is Hoop Up Springfield in April. You talked a little bit about that. Three and three basketball tournament for young people. Pair that with life skills and a job fair so kids can get summer work if they're of a certain age. Really great program in partnership with AIC. Uh amazing. Really opens up kids' eyes to the college, the possibility of college right in their backyard and so many other good things. And then our youth advisory board conference in April. Um it's a culmination of our work with our youth advisory board over the course of the school year. We talked a little bit about that earlier, Patrick. you know, 60some high school kids who give so much of their time to be a part of my office, work with us on current issues, tell us what's happening in the various corners of Hampton County, and they're really who are the students that can get involved in in in any of these programs. Is it >> do you contact the the principles or superintendents of our school districts and then kind of filters down from there so the students get involved? It's that and it's young people being aware of our our programs and applying. So, you know, any young person in any of Hampton Countyy's high schools for Horizon, if you're a female, for stop this for uh hoop up Springfield, for our youth advisory board. We also have uh our future lawyers of Springfield program, which is for aspiring young people who are in high school or college or law school looking to get some support and some guidance as to how to get to that difficult road, the end of that road as as as to become a lawyer. So, we have all these different programs. It's all accessible on our social media feeds and our website, hamandda.com. you can find out all about this stuff. A lot of our social media content is posting uh events and things relative to these different uh efforts. So, you can find out more on online and uh and get involved. We encourage everybody across the county to see what we're doing and get involved. You know, it's funny. It's the old NBC pitch, the more you know. But it's it's filtered to so many different organizations. Yours as well. It's all about being aware of the opportunities that are around you. No matter whether it's nationally or here in Hampton County or right near a specific town, whether it's Palmer, where wherever it might be. Patrick, today is my 11th anniversary as district attorney. Congratulations. It's been 11 years. >> Yeah. Yeah. Time flies. So really from the very beginning I set out to do what I could do uh prevention work uh innovating uh things like each and things we've already talked about and do the traditional work of a prosecutorial agency right make sure that people are safe and hold people accountable and I don't think the things are mutually exclusive and we've proven that over 11 years that we can engage with the community we can innovate but we can do the traditional work of keeping people safe at the same time. >> Fantastic. District Attorney Anthony Glooney, I want to thank you so very much and I'm I I'm happy that you've committed to coming back quarterly. So, here we are at the start of 2026. We'll see you sometime uh somewhere April, May, somewhere in that range. >> Looking forward to it. >> Good seeing you. Thank >> Thank you. >> This is 22 News in Focus with Patrick Barry.