Sheriff’s Department expands public affairs cable program to Chelsea

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department recently expanded the broadcast area of its public affairs television show, Common Ground to include Chelsea.

Produced by the External Affairs Division of the Sheriff’s Department, Common Ground was created as a means to promote public awareness of the programming within and operations of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department while delivering on Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral’s commitment to increase the level of transparency of the functions of the Department. The show also acts as one of the conduits through which Sheriff Cabral’s external mission of promoting public safety and crime prevention is disseminated.

Initially airing in a half-hour format on June 1, 2006 on Boston Neighborhood Network, the show commenced with Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral hosting Marie St. Fleur, State Representative of the 5th Suffolk District. Since that time, the Common Ground show has also been co-hosted by the Department’s Chief of External Affairs and Communications Steve Tompkins, and guests have included some of the diverse denizens of Suffolk County, including Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis; Superintendent of Boston Public Schools Carolyn Johnson; numerous Suffolk County city and state officials from Chelsea, Winthrop and Revere as well as Boston; representatives from several of Suffolk County’s community groups, organizations and institutions; a host of Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department staff members, both custody and non-custody; and many others.

Representing the most current and significant changes to the program, Common Ground was expanded to an hour-long broadcast format to allow for an even greater opportunity to keep viewers informed of some of the many issues and operations within the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department and throughout the County. In an effort to reach out more fully to the entirety of Suffolk County, the Department has extended the program’s scope to include Chelsea and Winthrop.

According to Chelsea Community Cable Executive Director Robert D. Bradley, the pairing of Sheriff Cabral’s powerful public safety message with the Chelsea community’s committed viewership has the potential to elicit significant and positive impact.

"Chelsea Community Cable is the local Public Access Channel for residents of Chelsea," said Bradley. "It is watched very closely by approximately seven to eight thousand subscribers. Common Ground will be extremely helpful and educational to the viewers in Chelsea, informing them about how their County Sheriff’s office operates. I am sure Common Ground will provide an outstanding service to Chelsea."

You can watch Common Ground on Chelsea Community Cable on Channels 3 and 16 Monday’s from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

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