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| Cutting community corrections officers raises safety, budget concerns |
| By thenewstribune.com - CHRISTOPHER HURST |
| Published: 12/28/2011 |
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The economic crisis of recent years has required the Legislature to make difficult cuts to balance the budget. A significant part of what makes this complica-ted is that more than two-thirds of the budget is constitu-tionally or federally protected, leaving only a small portion of the budget which can actually be cut. One such unprotected area is the Department of Corrections, which over the past few years has seen some dramatic cuts and is now facing elimination of its Community Corrections Officers (CCO) division. Through programs such as Earned Early Release, many of the low-risk offenders who were imprisoned are now on the streets. Presumably, low-risk offenders are the least likely to offend again. But now, due to the current budget crisis, it has been proposed that medium- to high-risk offenders be released and the responsibility to monitor them passed on to the counties. Counties are ill-equipped to handle some of these offenders, leaving many communities facing the prospect of higher crime rates. State CCOs are trained professionals who have a strong base in understanding how to best deal with medium- to high-risk offenders they currently supervise. The role of CCOs is not only to supervise offenders, but they are often their only access to social services, like chemical dependency programs. Access to programs like these are vital to successful re-integration into society. CCOs maintain a detailed report on the offenders, including current and past family members and associates, physical and mental health, and patterns of criminal behavior. This information can be relevant in not only preventing future crimes but also aiding law enforcement officers in criminal investigations. The job of a CCO is complex, and any wholesale transfer of these responsibilities to the counties or cities would lead to many offenders being overlooked, causing greater costs to the community and in the long run ultimately the state. Read More. |
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