Probation reforms face budget troubles

Some state legislators say progress on fixing the state’s probation system has been too slow and that true reforms could be several years off.

Flaws in the system came to light after the killing of former UNC Student Body President Eve Carson and Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato in spring 2008.

Both suspects charged with killing Carson were on probation. The incidents revealed a system that was overtaxed and lacked adequate supervision for offenders and their case workers.

Intense reviews of the system were launched soon after. The state legislature allotted about $1.4 million in the 2009-11 budget to rework its operations.

Probation officials say that the system has come a long way, but legislators say they would still like to see more probation officers in the field.

N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, co-chairwoman of the committee for appropriations on justice and public safety, said legislators want to consolidate the system and make sure there are enough probation officers to handle the cases.

But many positions are still vacant and caseworkers remain overloaded, Kinnaird said.

“It is very disappointing to me that they haven’t filled the positions,” Kinnaird said. “But if we have not provided adequate funding, then we as the legislature have failed on our end.”

Keith Acree, public affairs director for the N.C. Department of Correction, said the probation system has made a number of improvements in the last year, but that the Department of Corrections did not have sufficient funds to add 117 officers to the field, as the legislature requested.

Approximately 2,000 officers handle 120,000 cases in the state, Acree said.

“There has not been a lot of additional money. It has been very tight for every state agency this year,” Acree said.

The department has made major improvements, especially in technology and communication, despite the lack of money, Acree said.

The reforms are targeted at making the system more efficient and reducing the burden on individual probation officers.

 The upgrades include a new computer “dashboard” technology that allows probation officers to deal with their entire caseload electronically.

Officers also receive daily updates from the court system, so they don’t need to do manual record checks on offenders. They can now search offenders’ homes without a warrant.

Through another reform, judges reviewing probation cases can have limited access to offender’s juvenile records, Acree said.

N.C. Rep. Ron Sutton, D-Robeson, vice chairman of the house subcommittee for appropriations on justice and public safety, said it could take up to 3 years to fully reform the system.

If the state could pay probation officers more, turnover would be lower, which could lead to more experienced officers, Sutton said.

And had the killings happened outside the Triangle, the problem might not have been addressed as quickly, he said.

“It all boils down to money. We didn’t have all of the money we needed to implement all of the good ideas.”



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