CONFINED AND COSTLY: How Supervision Violations Are Filling Prisons and Burdening Budgets
Thanks to Member Joseph for bringing this to our attention.
Probation and parole are designed to lower prison populations and help people succeed in the community. New data show they are having the opposite effect. Until now, national data regarding the impact of probation violations on prison populations have been unavailable, resulting in a lopsided focus on parole. The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center recently engaged corrections and community supervision leaders in 50 states to develop the first complete picture of how probation and parole violations make up states’ prison populations. The analysis revealed a startling reality.
45% of state prison admissions nationwide are due to violations of probation or parole for new offenses or technical violations
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I was asked many questions when I left prison in 2013 and started the probation portion of my sentence. Biggest general one was “Whats the big difference between your probation and not having any”. Finally used this example. Two people leave prison at the same time with the same SO status. One on probation and the other not. The guy not on probation could get in a bus full of under-18 yr olds with no issues….. if the guy on probation said “hi” to someone on the bus he’d go right back to prison.
So 17% of FL state inmates in for tech violations, 83% for crimes.
Lower than some other states but still a sign that supervision isn’t working very well.
More relevant to FAC— has anyone checked what % of FL state inmates are in for registration failures, and is it higher than other states.
Registration violations are a new crime.
And it’s more central to our mission than are supervision violations, no?
Have we ever tracked the # of FL inmates in for registration failures? We should, shouldn’t we? If anybody knows how to do this.
There are SOOOOO many projects that I think would be EXTREMELY helpful to our advocacy, among them tracking the number and cost of arrests, prosecutions convictions for registration violations (as opposed to new crimes), cost of registration, monitoring, tracking, apprehending, compliance checks, etc.
We just lack the volunteer manpower to make this happen
Isn’t that what GEO and all the people they donated to fauls?
I know that FAC is following the Ron book DUI case but I think it would be pretty cool if FAC could post quarterly, (like clock work) a main newspaper article of his DUI arrest along with it his other crime he was arrested for involving money, I can’t recall the charge. Even better, put the articles of his arrests on the Home Page of FAC’s Website for all to see at anytime!!!!! BAM!!!! Ron Books face and crimes on the Internet for all to see. 24/7!!! Day and Night Forever!]!!! His own evil ways DROPPED RIGHT BACK ON HIS HEAD BY FAC
not something we would consider doing.
I agree F.A.C then we would be doing the same thing we do not want done to us.
The verse is “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”
NOT
Do unto others as they do to you.
We need to be an example of doing the right thing and focus on our cause, not on bad mouthing others to the public.
It even pisses me off when the news shows someone arrested for something then when it is found they were not guilty, nothing is said by the news.
Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman would wholeheartedly disagree.
Dustin,
Those were super high profile cases.
But a lot of no bodies (meaning people no body ever heard of )
get caught in a fake sex sting and have their faces blasted all over the news. The news shows up with a camera crew and reporter banging on their door demanding an interview and talking to your neighbors.
Some of them fight the charges and get them dropped ( sometimes ) but their names and faces are there on the news archives until Jesus returns.
ok.
My personal opinion about parole:
I can understand the supervision for this method of “release” because you’re being let out earlier than your sentences time to prove that you’re worthy to be out.
My personal opinion about probation:
There is no need to put someone on probation supervision because if the court sentenced you to 5 years suspended after 2 yrs to be incarcerated, then let it be done with. Here’s the reason why I feel this way – When you leave prison, you’re still going to forever have the criminal record. On probation or off probation, every human being is capable of doing something to get in trouble again. Probation just makes it easier to nab you for something as petty as drinking a beer with your buddies while watching the Super Bowl. Something that anyone NOT on probation can do. And that person not on probation (criminal past of not) CAN commit an offense of ANY KIND while under the influence of alcohol.
If you have 3 years still hanging over your head from the 5 yrs suspended after 2, then have that 3 years hanging without having to be on probation with it. That means, even not being on probation, if you mug someone and get arrested, the court sees that you have 3 more years that you “owe” the state and can sentence you for any length of time for that 3 yrs + whatever the time for the new crime is (or have it concurrent). And there is no REAL NEED for a probation officer to have been a part of that violation.
If no one gets what I’m saying, let me know and I’ll try to explain it better.
Bottom line – probation officers are a fvcking waste of tax payer money.
We’re ALL on “probation” from the minute we’re born. Meaning that, in life, the justice system is just WAITING for someone to commit a crime.
And when a person’s probation comes to an end, he/she cannot be arrested for having a beer while watching the Super Bowl.
Parole is one thing. Probation…. waste of money. End it.
Correction: If you have 3 yrs hanging after the 2 of incarceration and you commit a new crime, the court can sentence you for any length of time WITHIN and leading up to the 3 years you owe + whatever time for the new crime. Just wanted to make that part of my statement clear. I left it open to “any length of time”.
Not sure where the whole “can’t drink a Beer while on Probation” comes from? I am sure that if your offense was alcohol related, you would have restrictions. But if they aren’t alcohol related, there is no way they can stop you from having a Beer during the Super Bowl, or any other time. I say this from personal experience.
My understanding is that probation can, and often does, prohibit alcohol consumption. You can be required to undergo regular alcohol and drug screening, for one thing. This is especially true if your offense was alcohol related (as you mentioned) but it is probably also true if you mentioned anything about alcohol dependency in your defense or as a mitigating factor. And maybe even if you didn’t. I’m sure others will weigh in on whether their probation involved alcohol restrictions. In the documentary “Untouchable,” the vigilante who went around stalking RSOs to try to catch them in technical violations specially mentioned turning one in for drinking a beer on his front porch. He went to prison on that.
Yeah they use to drug test me every visit even though I have never done a drug in my life. One guy got violated after his wife served Poppy seed rolls for dinner which can test positive for some drug test. The officer said “Positive is positive” and a violation.
That is just HOW bad they want people back in the system.
Well MY personal experience as well as the piece of paper from the probation dept CLEARLY states that you may NOT consume alcohol beverages while on probation. Alcohol related offense or not. And probation periodically does urine testing to see if you’ve drank or done drugs.
Probation conditions are personalized – one person might have special conditions that another does not.
Maybe for some, but not for registrants. Blanket conditions for all sex crime, regardless of circumstance, are common and not limited to drugs and alcohol, such as internet restrictions.
I was federal: no such restrictions but then again i also didnt have any internet restrictions ever. Good life u til i landed in florida. If i only knew …
Not really mine say I cant drink to excess. but it’s to the po.s interpretation of what excess means
The probation conditions I was given were not specific to me. They were the basic conditions.
The idea that conditions are specific to an individual is true, only in that a judge decided to assign them to you. Of course, that is not to say that they actually have any thing to do with the person.
In my–somewhat cynical–experience, conditions applied are more a function of the judge than the real needs of either society or the convicted, or some rational procedures. Some judges are capricious. Some detest SOs. Some are thoughtful and actually consider the issues. Some are lazy and just apply boilerplate conditions.
So many aspects of the criminal justice system are simply a crap shoot. Chance determines the arresting officer, the prosecutor you get, the judge assigned and who your attorney is. We all do get individualized treatment, even thought it is a roll of the dice.
Before I went in, I didn’t have a computer. When I got released on Offender probation I was allowed to have a computer but was often the subject of unannounced raids and searches of my computer. Neighbors who did not like me living in the neighborhood would call in saying I had porn on my computer. ( Not even what I was arrested for as I never had a computer before that )
They never questioned how these people knew this and none was ever found. My lawyer tried to get it stopped unless they had hard evidence but probation told him that as long as they got tips, they would follow up with harsh and strict enforcement.
Although after the last one where they destroyed my house looking for non existent evidence, I never had another raid and that actually helped me win early termination from probation. ( After a 3rd attempt and with a new judge )
In my state, anyone on probation is prohibited from consuming alcohol or any other drug not obtained at a licensed pharmacy with a valid prescription. With medical marijuana now being legal, this could create more issues. DOC has not yet caught up with the new laws. They’re denying visitors from entering prisons if the drug dog hits on them, despite having a medical marijuana card. I’m sure we will soon hear about someone being sent back to prison when they fail a UA for marijuana. Since it is not obtained in a pharmacy, it doesn’t fall within the language of the law.
There is plenty of case law for getting your drinking law rights back if it wasn’t part of your crime. Also, there is plenty of case law for not working full time job used to win these cases once a week while working in the law library for a box of top. There is also plenty of case law for adding conditions to your probation without a violation (double jeopardy). Accepting an illegal sentence is also legal so don’t think your getting a legal sentence accepting this crap you can file grievance and win every time with case law or get a hearing. Quit being p……
“win every time with case law”
I wish that were true. F.A.C and their lawyers have used solid case law as well as other lawyers for many registry related issues and a large percentage of the time, the motions are denied.
I do not believe the LAW has anything to do with your outcome so much as the judge you go before. I got denied 3 times and my lawyer saw a window of opportunity to move on my appeal when the county judges went through rotation.
The new judge almost crapped himself reading the sentence I received. He could not rule on any of my case but had 100% power over sentencing and canceled the remaining years of my sentence and walked out free of anything but registration.
I did not even blame my probation officer in the previous cases. She did not speak up for me ( said she was not allowed to ) but also did not say a single bad thing about me either.
The original sentencing judge and prosecutor were friends outside of the court ( Should have disqualified one of them ) and were giddy during my entire hearing the first several times. It was a circus of madness and a show put on for others in the courtroom that , that judge was not playing around.
Good Day CherokeeJack….
Yes, some Judges have Hearts and Souls….
At My Sentencing, My Judge, a 64 year Female with an Impeccable Judicial Record actually withheld tears at my sentencing of 10 years SO Probation and she took the Initiative to allow me to Travel the World, with Passport(as at the time there was no IML) and gave me ‘phone-in’ allowances which meant I had to only call into announce to the Probation of my travel plans…at the end of my sentencing, She Retired from the Bench….
…and, yes, I am writing a novel….’stay tuned…news at eleven!’
Yeah every once in a while a judge has a heart. Mine listened because he was good friends with my attorney. My attorney would not have spoken with the judge and put his neck out there if he did not agree that the previous judge had a grudge against me (and anyone with any accusation of sexual nature). She insulted my lawyer so badly he had to be excused several times. She made it personal so, so did my lawyer.
The only thing I wish he had done different was to encourage me to get a public defender when I ran out of money instead of pleading guilty to things I did and DIDN’T do.We basically gave the prosecution everything they asked for and more. I got the MAX for every charge with NO mercy even though I had never even had a parking ticket in my life, was a college grad, etc.
Where are those time machines already? I think I would have to go back to age 6 to fix all the issues with my past.
Who cares about the prison population as long as everyone has work lol. In my case I’m on probation after 22 years for violating a SO retroactive law. I scratched out my ID for medical purposes. Even the state attorney told the judge I violated the law because people had the right to know. Her saying that proves my 1st admendment rights are being violated supposedly the markings on my ID are for police to know not the general public. I’m a business owner and raised 3 kids now I’m a criminal again being treated like scum of the earth by my PO for nothing who insist she has to call all my customers and inform them I’m an SO. Court date next week on that and 2500 dollars more I gotta pay just to work and not loose my customers. Create more laws catch more criminals!
What is ironic is, I only have the state statue on my ID real small (I guess that is changing soon and will be HUGE).
I got pulled over for a lane change violation and the deputy didn’t even mention the statue on my I.D but found out only after running my I.D. He was cool though and even though I made the aggressive lane change THEN he found out the bad stuff, he still gave me a warning.
True fact : The average citizen is 50% less likely to get a ticket from a patrol deputy when pulled over than from a city officer or a Hwy patrol trooper.
Add in a felony on your record and you are 60% more likely to get the ticket and add sex offender and you are 99% more likely to get the ticket than someone with no record.
These stats were gathered by the CherokeeJack institute of life knowledge and school of hard knocks
Thanks for clarifying that these stats are anecdotal. Otherwise I’d have not allowed your post.
Well thank you as well but I know that the only thing that got me out of that ticket was I use to be in law enforcement and knew what to say to ease and calm the deputy.
Having worked in Law enforcement I also know that the sheriff’s department focuses more on crime and less on traffic, although they do have a dedicated traffic unit ( mostly motorcycles ) and any deputy can also enforce traffic.
The budget is larger for the counties and are not as stressed to write tickets to justify their jobs whereas smaller cities rely on the traffic enforcement for extra income.
That is what I was basing my claims on but you are right, I did not do extensive research just first hand knowledge from being on both sides of the law.
Although I probably cannot quote real numbers I am sure you will agree that an officer is more likely to give a warning to a non offender than an offender?
Thanks again for all you do.
Once all the drug offenders have been released following the legalization of marijuana in many states, the head count in prison populations will need to be filled somehow in order to justify the expense of staying open. Don’t forget that state prisons get federal monies for every body in a cold cell. No law enforcement agency wants their budget cut.