State budget cuts have dramatically increased caseloads for probation officers.
The same cuts mean supervisors have too many officers assigned to them and too little time to review cases. And despite the pressures, starting probation officers make some of the lowest starting pay in state government for positions requiring a college degree. Those are three of the major problems N.C. lawmakers must address to fix problems with the state’s probation system, the director of that system said last week.
Most parts of the system are apparently OK, but some counties seem lacking.
With the murders of two college students at Research Triangle universities earlier this year, Robert Guy, head of Probation, said he was “really appalled” when he examined operations of probation offices in Raleigh and Durham. “In those two counties, we did not do our job,” Guy said. “The chain of command did not do its job, not just the individual probation officer.” Both suspects in the murders were on probation at the time, and Wake County probation officers didn’t contact one of the men for more than a year, even when he didn’t comply with his sentence … Guy said he has relieved probation managers in both counties for now, as he and a team from the National Institute of Corrections review the state’s system.
Guy says he already recognizes weaknesses in the system:
- Budget cuts in recent years have forced state officials to increase the caseload for all probation officers. For less serious offenders, the state raised the minimum caseload from 90 to 110 cases, a 22 percent increase, and the average caseload in Rowan is even higher right now — 135.
- The same budget cuts have meant fewer supervisors to review files and spot mishandled cases or problems overlooked.
- Poor pay has resulted in a high turnover rate — and, thus, a lack of continuity — among probation officers. Starting probation officers make the lowest pay in state government for positions requiring a college degree, Guy said.
- Outdated technology prevents probation officers from communicating well with police departments.
The full article can be found at Salisbury Post.
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In the latest move to rein in extensive sex offender management laws, a Wake County NC Superior Court judge has overthrown the state’s lifetime monitoring legislation for certain sex offenders.
The ruling Thursday by Judge Ripley Rand was the latest court decision to reject the state’s attempts to track sex offenders who have finished their prison or probation sentences. Across the state, 122 people are subject to the tracking systems and many are contesting the satellite monitoring … Ultimately, these court decisions in North Carolina and other states may result in a more definitive ruling by a higher court, experts and lawyers say. “The courts, us, everybody is a little confused,” said Hannah Rowland, who manages the monitoring program for the state corrections department. “We’re all trying to work this out as best as we can.”
… The state legislature passed laws in 2006 and 2007 requiring lifetime satellite monitoring for sex offenders classified as repeat offenders, aggravated offenders, sexually violent predators, or who victimized children. The N.C. Department of Correction was assigned to attach the $1,400 units to the ankles of such offenders. The department spends nearly $3,000 a year tracking a single offender.
More details at the Charlotte Observer.
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Mecklenburg County NC has launched a new program offering treatment and housing to some inmates who are mentally ill instead of requiring them to serve their entire sentence in jail.
Since January, seven people have moved into an outpatient facility just east of uptown, where they can live and get medicine and counseling for up to 90 days. The Sheriff’s Office is monitoring inmates daily to determine who needs mental health services. The county also wants to start a crisis team to help law enforcement officers better identify people with mental conditions and a crisis center that could offer treatment for up to a week … “If they’re mentally ill, they need treatment,” said Connie Mele, director of provider services with Mecklenburg Area Mental Health. “We need to be getting to them to where they can receive some services … so hopefully they will stop committing crimes.” Mele said a group that spent more than two years looking at the needs of mentally ill people in jail led to the creation of the diversion program. Last fall, county commissioners approved $500,000 to run the diversion effort for six months …
For now, housing is limited to candidates arrested at least five times in a given year on misdemeanor offenses. Inmates must be relatively stable to be considered for the program, said Area Mental Health Director Grayce Crockett. Those who have committed felonies or need a high level of care aren’t eligible.
Mecklenburg officers have been trained in crisis management at a similar program in Wake County. The Charlotte Observer has the full story.
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