Nick is a highly decorated corrections professional whose skill, competence and thorough understanding of the corrections processes and duties of Sheriff exceeds the high benchmarks necessary to keep our community safe and return offenders to our streets as productive and contributing members of our society.
When Sheriff Cocchi first ran for office, he promised to leverage the talent and manpower of the department for whatever challenges may come, and help bridge the gap relative to unmet needs in the community.
When the COVID-19 Pandemic came, he continued to make good on that promise. From shifting York Street Industries production to create PPE amid a national shortage to helping get vaccines in arms and tests to those who wanted one, he has made the department a central part of the pandemic response in Western Massachusetts.
Sheriff Cocchi had staff help operate the MEMA Western Mass. Command Center and transport sick residents across Massachusetts to and from isolation hotels.
He also opened up the First Responder Recovery Home to help infected frontline workers, from law enforcement, fire and EMTs to retail and grocery workers, recover from illness while not jeopardizing the health of their family members.
The outreach continues today as new needs emerge in the community, and Sheriff Cocchi ensures the department’s staff are there to help.
In May 2018, Sheriff Cocchi opened the only Section 35 addiction treatment beds in this half of the state.
The department’s Stonybrook Stabilization & Treatment Center now has maintains more than 130 treatment beds and since its inception, the program has helped more than 2,500 people with substance use disorder find a life free from drugs and alcohol.
And unlike insurance-based programs that typically discharge someone by the 14th day of treatment, the Stonybrook Stabilization & Treatment Center’s average length of treatment is around 50 days, helping make its re-commitment rate less than 5 percent.
In an effort to provide the best care for everyone in the department’s custody, Sheriff Cocchi has expanded the Medication Assisted Treatment program at all of the Hampden County correctional facilities.
Since the program was expanded in 2019, the department has provided FDA approved medications including Buprenorphine (Suboxone), Methadone and Naltrexone (Vivitrol) for treatment of opioid use and alcohol use disorder to a total of over 2,100 clients.
Group and individual therapy; education, including overdose prevention, is also provided to each MAT participant and the result is a reduced likelihood of an overdose upon release as well as higher rates of people achieving long-term sobriety.
As a candidate, Sheriff Cocchi pledged to implement a “pets for prisoners” program to help save dogs and heal inmates.
As Sheriff, he has made that vision a reality and since the program’s first day, the offenders have trained dozens of dogs, helping them find great homes across the region and the dogs have helped the offenders learn how to care for all of another creature’s needs, and how to love unconditionally.
In an effort to build bridges into the community while increasing awareness of the department’s work in Western Massachusetts, Sheriff Cocchi started a civilian outreach academy that runs twice a year.
The Sheriff and staff educate attendees on topics ranging from the opioid epidemic and how to administer Narcan to understanding what a day in the life of a correctional officer is really like.
The six-week academy also teaches participants how to save a life with CPR, and educates about gang awareness, personal security, and crime prevention.
From growing the training programs in advanced manufacturing to expanding the department’s reach into the good-paying tree-maintenance industry, Sheriff Cocchi has continued to grow the variety of ways the department can help someone transition into a successful, law-abiding life upon release.
During the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Sheriff Cocchi transformed the department’s industrial training program to produce life-saving personal protective equipment amid a national shortage.
An immersive training program while in custody paired with a growing number of partnerships with businesses in the region means respectable and reliable employment upon release. This is one of the key factors contributing to the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office continuing to have one of the lowest recidivism rates in the nation.
As the role of the sheriff’s office has evolved from care while in custody to community outreach and crime prevention, Sheriff Cocchi has been deploying highly-trained deputy sheriffs around Hampden County to assist local police for you- the people of Western Massachusetts.
When the entire Blanford Police Department abruptly resigned in 2018, Sheriff Cocchi directed deputies to patrol the streets there to let the residents know they were not alone.
In 2019 when Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno asked for assistance in keeping the city’s flagship public space, Forest Park, safe for the summer, Sheriff Cocchi answered the call and deployed deputies.
What has resulted is a multi-faceted partnership that brings community policing tactics to Forest Park for two shifts a day for about nine months each year​.
Upon taking office, Sheriff Cocchi expanded the department’s regional safe-keep program to safely house those arrested and accused of a crime until they can be arraigned on their charges.
Offered to the state police and law enforcement in all 23 cities and towns in Hampden County, the regional safe-keep program provides a safe environment for the accused where medical and mental health professionals can address their needs including medical issues, and free up local police officers to be on the streets.
With appreciation from local law enforcement who use the program, it is considered a win-win for the police departments of Hampden County and the citizens we all serve.
In 2019, we partnered up with the Hampden County District Attorney’s office to implement a strategy to help the young people being charged with serious crimes.
On our end, we opened a youthful offender pod at the House of Corrections where we developed programming designed to help a young person break free from the behaviors that brought them to us in the first place.
And early results indicate that a therapeutic approach while maintaining the firm but fair atmosphere helps these young people leave our custody to explore their options as law-abiding adults rather than reoffending and returning to jail.
Dogs Are Able To Get and Give, A New Lease (and Leash) On Life.
(Hampden County, MA) Nick Cocchi, Assistant Superintendent of The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department and a candidate for Sheriff, announced that a priority for him if he earns the right to serve as the County’s new Sheriff is to implement an idea that he has been discussing with other officials from the law enforcement and animal care communities for the past year. Cocchi will implement a Healing Pets Program at the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department.
“This has been a passion of mine for a long time. This is a program that I know will have incredible benefits for both our inmate and addiction recovery communities in the Sheriff’s Department and for the stray and unwanted dogs that are too often lost to euthanasia. It can provide healing for inmates and for these dogs that need care. I’ve talked to Sheriff’s from around the country about their similar programs and I know we can do this here, saving the taxpayers in many of Hampden County’s cities and towns from the cost and pain of euthanizing these incredible canine souls that can reach some inmates and addicts like no other therapist can,” said Cocchi.
“Our objective is to partner with entities in Hampden County that are responsible for taking strays off the streets, from municipalities with dog officer programs like Wilbraham, Westfield or West Springfield, to the communities that work with The Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center. Instead of euthanizing these dogs when no one wants them, we will take them. We want them and from the programs I’ve looked at, like Paws for Life, the inmates and recovering community members entrusted to us, need them. Lives are saved both ways,” said Cocchi.
“Many people are willing to help us implement this program, from private kennel owners to people who just love dogs. We will form a committee of dog-lovers and experts in pet therapies, all interested private citizens, to oversee this effort. In-house, we will look to our own K-9 Unit experts to advise and ensure the safety and health of both the dogs and inmates. It is well-established that “comfort animals” can become a life-line for inmates when therapists just can’t reach them. The dogs are tax-payer friendly, they just require love and food. We’ve seen evidence that inmates will develop confidence, responsibility, patience and nurturing habits that benefit them and their families after their time with us,” said Cocchi.
“At a recent Department of Justice Symposium I attended to share strategies and programs we use at the HCSD, I had the opportunity to discuss this idea with Sheriff’s and Correctional Administrators who have such programs. I learned that dogs can diffuse and disarm aggressive inmate behaviors as well as help inmates learn new caring skills, for themselves and others. Some outcomes from these programs have resulted in inmates successfully returning to their community and not offending again, It is amazing how many have pursued their own businesses in animal care-related professions and even gone into various areas of veterinary care. We will discuss these possibilities with Holyoke Community College (HCC) which has a veterinary program. If HCC can successfully run a nationally renowned culinary program for casinos, I know they can collaborate with us in making this project a success,” said Cocchi.
(Hampden County, MA) Nick Cocchi, Deputy Superintendent of the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, candidate for Hampden County Sheriff, today announced that one of his first efforts working with the Legislature would be to re-file Senate Bill 2432, “An Act Providing access to full spectrum addiction treatment services”. The legislation was passed in the Massachusetts Senate but the legislative clock ran out before further passage in the House could send the bill addiction advocates regard as life-saving could be sent to the Governor.
The legislation proposed a major adjustment to a law passed in 2014 providing coverage from fourteen days of treatment to thirty days. Cocchi has already been in discussion with legislators, not waiting for the outcome of the Sheriff’s campaign.
“All of who have been fighting for years know that fourteen days of treatment is not enough time to successfully cure what can be years, even decades of addiction. The people entrusted to our care, need more time in our Hampden County Sheriff’s Addiction Center programs and in other successful programs run by organizations we work with,” said Cocchi.
“Some in this race for Sheriff have been saying it takes a politician to get money from Boston. We know from decades of success that it is evidence-based, proven records of success, that the legislature funds. I won’t go to Boston as Sheriff to only fight for the Department’s budget, but for the real tools we need, like this legislation, to save lives, said Cocchi.
“This legislation would have provided the funds needed for a real game-changer in this fight. This money would not have come from tax-payers but from insurance companies who should be providing this coverage for opioid and addiction abuse,” said Cocchi.
“The insurance coverage increase would cost just an additional sixty cents a year. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, this legislation would have allowed us to help many more addicts. The financial cost of addiction to society is so much more than this sixty cent premium. I thank the legislature for passing new opioid legislation this year, but I know we have to fight together in this next session, against certain special interests to get this next important step done,” said Cocchi.
“We know that the longer an addict stays in an intensive treatment program, the greater their ability is to beat their addiction. I’ve talked to so many addicts who tell me that more time with us helps them to better believe in their ability to regain their own sobriety and stay clean and sober,” said Cocchi.
Nick Cocchi, Assistant Superintendent of the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, and candidate for Sheriff, today expressed concern about a possible shortage of licensed alcohol and drug counselors when the Hampden County Drug Court opens later this year.
“In our efforts against addiction at The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, one of the greatest challenges we face is too-few treatment beds for addicts who don’t belong in a jail cell. We have great hope that the new Hampden County Drug Court will help direct patients to treatment. However, recent reports that the Habit OPCO Methadone Clinic in Lowell was forced to stop accepting new patients due to the lack of certified trained counselors is disturbing. This is an issue we should get in front of now to avoid this same problem when our new Drug Court opens. I have some ideas on how to do that,” said Cocchi.
“We need to provide reliable drug treatment services here in Hampden County on top of our successful efforts at the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department Addiction Center. The Massachusetts Legislature took on this epidemic 'Opioid Crisis' by passing legislation and additional funding to expand treatment services. We need to be sure that this effort does not fail because of the lack of certified addiction counselors. We need to be sure that we will have enough qualified addiction counselors to keep up with the growing stream of patients,” said Cocchi.
“I found recent comments by Linda Mullins, Treasurer for the Massachusetts Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, important,” said Cocchi: “The difficulty in finding qualified, certified alcohol and addiction counselors has gotten worse over the past few years, and that shortage has grown significantly over the last 5 to 10 years. Some (treatment programs) are ending up hiring people that aren't really qualified. A lot of our students, a good 60 percent of our students, are hired before they can finish the program. So that's a sign that they are desperate for people with any kind of qualification." Mullins also trains addiction councilors at several colleges, including Westfield University.” *Lowell Sun, 5/19/16.
“The reality of just how many people are in need of help, and not a jail cell is daunting. It’s just been reported that: “The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimated there were 556,000 people who abused or were dependent on alcohol or drugs in Massachusetts in 2014. That same year, there were 1,388 people certified as Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (LADCs). LADCs, which require a bachelor's degree, are the most common form of certification for addiction counselors in Massachusetts.” “That math is not an equation for success,” said Cocchi.
“I’ve reached out to Westfield State University, and area legislators to explore avenues the University can help meet the anticipated need for more certified counselors. I believe that STCC, HCC, The Elms, Western New England University, American International College and Springfield College, given their course offerings, might also be part of the effort to ensure we have the counselors we need, and I will be reaching out to them as well,” said Cocchi.
“We know from our work that a successful treatment plan for Opioid addicts requires regular, consistent and intensive counseling from qualified trained professionals, from certified alcohol and drug treatment counselors. A successful addiction treatment center like Lowell’s Habitat IPCO stopping to take new referrals is a warning of the critical need for new certified and experienced drug and alcohol counselors to service this population,” said Cocchi.
“We should get this right on day one when the Hampden County Drug Court opens. And as one of the responsible stewards of this program, our nationally recognized Hampden County Sheriff’s Department will continue to be at the forefront of the fight to ensure that our College and University system is helping provide us with the necessary trained and certified addiction counselors,” Cocchi said.
“If I earn the right to serve as our next Sheriff, I will open the facilities of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department for internship programs to area colleges. We will welcome any college or university in Hampden County that would be interested in placing students into internships with us to earn practical hours of supervised counseling. Anything we can do to help prepare the counselors we need will ultimately save lives and tax-payer’s dollars,” said Cocchi.
The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department has implemented a Public Health Model for Correctional Health Care that has been awarded an Innovations in American Government Award.
Nick Cocchi, while representing the Sheriff and the Sheriff’s Department at the National Institute of Corrections conferences in Colorado recently, fielded several questions about this innovative Public Health Model from interested Correctional administrators.
“Correctional Departments from across the country look to the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department for innovative Correctional solutions. This program includes comprehensive medical and mental health services linking inmates to the community from which they came and to which they return. The accolades and interest from other Departments all over America made me so proud of the men and women of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department who do this hard work,” said Cocchi.
“This is about the health of the inmates and protecting the health of the general public whom we serve. Importantly, this model provides for the health of the inmate and protects the rest of the community from a public health viewpoint by treating communicable diseases and mental health conditions, by focusing on early detection/assessment, health education, prevention, and continuity of care,” said Cocchi
The program is staffed by teams of dedicated health care professionals from the Sheriff’s Department, four Health Centers/Clinics in the community that are made up of Clinic Teams staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses who work collaboratively.
These teams are designed to maintain continuity of health care with the inmates while they are incarcerated and later upon their release into our communities, which is facilitated by utilizing an integration of databases and sharing of health record information, where allowed.
Depending upon the neighborhood that the individual resided in, and that person’s zip code, that inmate is assigned a specific Clinic Team that meets with them regularly in conjunction with facility health care providers while incarcerated. Also, that same team, including many of the same providers, is available to treat that patient at their assigned local Health Center in the community.
“We want, and the public needs, these individuals to return to a productive role in society. We’ve found that when we address health related concerns, like mental health, that the patient is better able to focus on self-improvement, like employment. The use of comprehensive discharge planning and case management contributes to the success of this program. To be effective and “Tough on Crime” we have to be “Smart on Crime,” said Cocchi.
“My prior experience administering the Sheriff’s Department Re-entry Unit underscores to me the importance of this national model that helps protect my fellow Correctional Staff, improves inmate health, improves public safety, and serves to save the taxpayer’s money. Simply, it means less inmates returning to incarceration. If I earn the right to serve as our next Sheriff, I will maintain this successful program,” said Cocchi.
Shira Schoenberg and The Republican/MassLive should be commended on the recent article detailing the horrific rate of suicide among corrections professionals. This is a very real and tragic actuality in our profession.
The constant stress and dangerousness of the job of Correctional Officer indeed has the potential to have devastating and lasting impacts on the health and even the life of that professional. Often these stressors can regrettably lead these dedicated, hardworking men and women to substance abuse, alcoholism, and ultimately suicide.
While the average life expectancy of any professional in America is 75 years old, the average life expectancy of a Correctional Officer is 59 years old. The risk of suicide is 39 percent higher for Correctional Officers than in all other professions combined.
At the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department we have been on the forefront of addressing the potentially negative and cumulative effects of stress and the emotional challenges faced by our correctional personnel on a daily basis. For those of us in this profession, we have understood these issues have existed for decades.
We have implemented a myriad of programs designed to improve the lives of our Officers and work to help them through the rigorous and demanding elements of their jobs.

Our department offers an Employee Assistance Program, providing a variety of confidential counseling services for employees and their families upon request. Additionally we have a Critical Incident Response Team, providing peer support services and assistance during serious events, and an Employee Activities Committee which provides opportunities for staff and their families to positively interact.
These programs provide our employees with a support network of professionals who understand the incredible stress that comes with being a Correctional Officer and offer sustainable assistance to help those Officers in times of need.
We continually provide our staff with training on mindfulness techniques in an effort to create awareness to the body’s physical and psychological response to stress. We provide group exercise and injury prevention programs, weight loss and activity competitions, and educational workshops and training on the benefits of a proper diet. We believe that a healthy well rounded mind, body and spirit allows individuals the ability to leave work at work and fosters a healthy positive home life.
We have also implemented several critical scheduling systems to lower the impact of job stress. For example, we have in place a rotation system that changes the Correctional Officer’s post assignment every six to nine months. This rotation allows the Officer to rotate between different core assignments and responsibilities in an effort to ensure that staff does not burn out in any one position.
In the living units, where enormous employee stress is generated, we operate a unit management system. This system is a team approach to managing that particular unit. The Correctional Officer is in charge of the living unit. However, he/she has support from a Correctional Caseworker and Counselor that are assigned to that specific unit as well. This helps to distribute the many needs of the inmate population to a team rather than placing all of the responsibility on a single Correctional Officer.
The sad reality for so many Correctional Officers is many of them believe that their important and difficult job of providing a safe, secure and humane institution for all the staff and inmates is a thankless one. This is why we have worked so hard to bring value and recognition to our Correctional Officers for their great work.
At the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, each May, we recognize several Officers during National Correctional Officers Week. This is a week-long recognition dedicated to honoring all of our Correctional Officers. We also recognize staff monthly and quarterly through an Employee of the Month program as well as Employee of the Quarter ceremonies.
Our department strongly believes the Officer’s family must also receive support and encouragement as they, too often, bear the burden of the significant stress that their loved ones face at work. The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department provides regular activities for our employees and their families. Some of our activities and events include employee golf and softball tournaments, bus trips to ball games, a father/daughter dance and several holiday trips. We feel it is important to show support to our staff as well as our extended Sheriff’s Department family.
A significant topic in the national discourse today is Prison Reform. As we find better, more effective ways to manage and rehabilitate our prison population, we must always remember not to leave the well-being of our brave Correctional Officers out of the discussion. I am proud of the men and women that work at the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department. I am grateful for the professional work each of them does every day. These men and women are my family. I am honored to be an employee of this department, and I am committed to do what I can to make the lives of those who serve on the front line as rewarding, fulfilling and safe as possible as we work together to serve the great citizens of Hampden County.
Hampden County is facing a public health and public safety crisis unlike anything we have seen before. Opiate addiction has become, quite simply, an epidemic.
This opiate issue does not target race, religion or economic status. This issue affects everyone, from every walk of life in our 23 cities and towns and has become a leading factor in crime. The office of Sheriff must continue to develop and grow the many partnerships we have within the community to attack addiction, because it is a community issue. The opiate epidemic will take everybody's attention to stop its movement forward.
87% of all individuals incarcerated have some type of substance-abuse issue. Opiate addiction is becoming more prevalent daily, and leads as the largest category of drugs that addict our incoming inmates.
My administration will put direct focus to create a task force designed to address this critical issue utilizing a three-pronged approach:
Treatment
When someone enters jail, treatment and education must go hand-in-hand. Because the day they walk through the gates they are no longer using drugs, they begin the first step to sobriety and hopefully the path to long-term recovery.
First time offenders of opiate abuse do not need to be incarcerated in a jail setting. Instead, they should be offered a treatment bed for their addiction. It is imperative that we generate and secure more treatment beds for first and even some second time offenders of opiate abuse.
The important supervision piece to the treatment bed versus incarceration is that the person leaving the treatment facility will be mandated to have some type of post release supervision. They will be mandated to take weekly drug tests, regularly report to probation officers and positively follow their probation plan.
People are very vulnerable when they leave treatment and supervision gives them a higher percentage rate of success because they have support mechanisms built in place to maintain their sobriety.
Enforcement
Enforcement is not just about the law-enforcement agency arresting the opiate abuser. There are tools that are available to us during investigations where we can find out where the opiates are being prescribed from.
For example you can get a prescription for an opiate from a primary care physician and then another from a physician at the VA hospital. Doctor shopping is a common occurrence.
However, databases do exist in which every prescription must be logged. So judging potential abuse, whether it’s by issuing agent or by receiving party is trackable. We must look at whether the prescribing physicians are working within the system correctly. Is it possible that physicians are too quick to prescribe an opiate in their good faith efforts to stop a patient in pain? We must seriously analyze how the culture of pain management effects addiction.
Enforcement is essential in regaining control of this epidemic that has spiraled out of control. Several agencies must be involved in the enforcement aspect of this initiative. We must have law-enforcement, physicians, support service agencies, parents, teachers, all working together to make sure that our patients do not spiral into the throes of addiction.
Education
Education is broken down into two components, education of the addict and education in the community
It is critical that to be effective in working with the offender, that our inmates understand that we have a zero tolerance policy at the Hampden County Jail when it comes to drugs. When our inmates are within the custody of the Sheriff they will be sober.
Prior to offenders being truly engaged in their treatment they need to understand the enemies that they face. Opiates have become the leader of that group. Education in the classrooms of the Sheriff’s department is still the cornerstone of this work that we do every day. The offender attends classes taught by certified substance abuse treatment personnel. Once we can help the addict to admit there is a problem, they become receptive to the treatment. We can then enter the stages of treatment and through our comprehensive program administered by medical and psychiatric professionals help the individual to recovery.
Education in the community is the second component to eradicating addiction. We must have the Sheriff’s department collaborate with educators and public health professionals in the public schools, especially the middle schools, to help teach our children to the dangers of drugs. We also must work to provide support systems for families of addicts to help them develop the skills and understanding to deal with the offender when he or she returns home.
Given the recent fiscal restraints that our cities and towns face, it imperative that we present new and innovative ideas to help decrease costs and increase safety for our communities. I am in full support of a regional lock up for all the cities and towns of Hampden County.
A regional lock up facility run by the Hampden County Sheriff's Department will save money for our cities and towns and keep police officers on the streets and in the neighborhoods rather than watching over detainees in their custody. This will further efforts to increase public safety.
Currently police departments throughout Hampden County rely on their own officers to watch individuals who have been arrested within the borders of their town. This means that there is a valuable officer taken off street in order to watch just one detainee. This officer is far more valuable on the streets, protecting thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses. I believe that the brave men and women who are trained to safeguard our community should be out doing what they do best and leave the monitoring of arrestees to those with the training and expertise in detention.
Local police departments within Hampden County as well as the Massachusetts State Police should not be responsible for monitoring, feeding or providing medical care to those they apprehend. A regional lock up, overseen by the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, is a logical and common sense approach to public safety and a win-win for the police departments of Hampden County and the citizens we all serve.
The Hampden County Sheriff's Department has the resources and the know-how to handle this job because this is what we are trained to do. I know that this concept will help ensure that the residents in our cities and towns are safer because the police presence can be greater. Regional lock ups have been very successful in other counties across the country and I believe it will make a positive impact on the public safety interest of Hampden County as well.
Our children are in danger; danger from the pressures that they encounter on the streets. Pressure from peers, gangs and ever-present drugs are obstacles they face every day. The office of Sheriff must be a positive force to not only rehabilitate our youth when they come to our facility, but to do all that is in our power to prevent them from becoming involved in activities that lead them down the path of trouble to begin with.
I pledge to commit to a youthful offender initiative. This initiative will be a two-pronged approach. The first will deal with youthful offenders who are incarcerated to get them placed back on the right track to integrate successfully into and become productive members of society. The second will be to address the youth before they get involved in a life of crime and provide resources and education to help them avoid the negative influences that become such a strong influence on their behavior.
The place to address the issues that plague our youth is in the schools. However, to indeed make the critical inroads needed, high school is too late. We need to get into the elementary schools to educate our students about making the right choices in life and redirect them towards positive youthful activities that are productive and fulfilling for their mind, body and spirit.
We need to establish collaboration between the Sheriff’s Department, local police, local service agencies and every school system to support and help in this very important initiative, to win the battle to save our children.