Pubdate: Sun, 04 Nov 2007
Source: Times-Tribune, The (Scranton PA)
Copyright: 2007 Townnews.com
Contact:  http://www.thetimes-tribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4440
Author: Erin L. Nissley

PROBATION, PAROLE OFFICERS STEPPING UP ENFORCEMENT

For years, checking in with a probation officer meant  making a trip
to his or her office in the morning,  giving a urine sample and
answering some questions.

Not anymore.

Now, Lackawanna County probation and parole officers  are dropping in
on clients at homes, stopping at bars  and holding evening hours to
make sure they are getting  a full picture of their clients' behavior.

"When offenders come to the office, they're on their  best behavior.
You're seeing them in an artificial  environment," said John Conlon,
director of the  county's probation and parole office. "It's important
  for our officers to get to know the client in his or  her
neighborhood, their families."

Probation and parole officers have always made the  occasional home
visit. Staffing increases -- eight new  officers have been hired this
year -- have made those  visits more commonplace, Mr. Conlon said.

Now, 20 supervision officers handle about 1,500 people  on probation
and parole, from the county's Treatment  Court and Accelerated
Rehabilitative Disposition  program to those sentenced to probation or
released on  parole.

"It's necessary to supervise from outside the office,"  said Gerald P.
Davis, director of field supervision for  probation and parole. "But
until this year, the sheer  number of (clients) kept everyone chained
to a desk."

Judge Michael Barrasse, who along with President Judge  Chester Harhut
has led the push for probation and  parole officers to get out into
the community, said  studies show that getting out of the office is
more  productive for the officers and the clients.

"We're telling these people, no alcohol, no drugs, no  frequenting
establishments with liquor licenses," Judge  Barrasse said. "It's
useless to enter an order, though,  if no one is going to make sure
they are following it."

Mr. Conlon estimates that probation and parole officers  have at least
one person a week violating the terms of  their parole or probation
since they began doing more  home visits a few months ago.

Catching violators is only part of the process, though.  Home visits
also allow probation and parole officers to  get to know family,
friends and neighbors.

Meeting the officers may mean families and neighbors  would be more
likely to report someone breaking the  rules, Mr. Conlon said.

Working in teams of two, probation and parole officers  will make
about 20 home visits a shift, mostly stopping  by in the evening and
at night during the week and on  weekends. While there, they usually
administer drug and  alcohol tests and may search the home for
contraband  like alcohol, drugs and drug paraphernalia.

In addition to home visits, probation and parole  officers are also
working more early morning and  evening hours to call clients in for
drug and alcohol  tests and participating in DUI checkpoints with the
county district attorney's office.

Also, a few times a month, probation and parole  officers will do bar
sweeps -- visiting just about  every bar in a town or neighborhood to
see if people on  probation or parole are there. They're usually
joined  by local police when possible, Mr. Conlon said.

If they do find someone on probation or parole in the  bar, probation
officers will administer a breath test  on the spot. Mr. Davis said
the punishment for finding  someone violating probation or parole
varies -- from a  verbal warning to being taken to prison.

"It's a shot in the dark," Mr. Conlon admitted. "We may  not catch a
lot of people at the bar we're at that  given night. But it's about
having a presence. Tavern  owners and patrons know we're there, and
that we'll be  back."
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