On Thursday, Governor Perdue and I, along with local law enforcement leaders, spoke at an event in Raleigh to announce improvements to our state probation system.
The Governor signed her probation reform bill – which does three key things:
• makes warrantless search a condition of all probation cases
• extends the authority to conduct warrantless searches to law enforcement officers with reasonable suspicion
• gives probation officers limited access to the juvenile criminal records of offenders that they supervise
We also outlined how we have sped the process for obtaining warrants from the Parole Commission for those who violate parole or post release supervision.
Troopers and police officers demonstrated how they can now access information from the Department of Correction in their patrol cars – telling them instantly if the person they have stopped is on probation or parole, or is wanted as an absconder or escapee. This information is now automatically returned with a driver’s license check.
We continue taking other steps to improve our probation and parole system using guidance and recommendations from the National Institute of Corrections. We’re pressing the legislature to provide more probation officers on the streets. We’re making progress on reducing officer caseloads and we’re moving to implement fundamental changes in how we assess offender risk levels and how we supervise offenders based on the risks they present to our communities.
If you have a degree in criminal justice, social work, psychology or a related field and have an interest in probation work -- we’re hiring now. Check out our available positions at http://tinyurl.com/mxbtad. It can be difficult and challenging work, but helping someone turn away from a life of crime can be one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do.