probation officer being unfairprobation officer being unfair

[240] Pennsylvania v. Jasmine Jackson, No. 42 Pa.C.S.

[255] American Civil Liberties Union, Georgia - Extreme Racial Disparities Persist in Marijuana Arrests, April 2020, https://graphics.aclu.org/marijuana-arrest-report/ga.

Most jurisdictions differentiate between violations of supervision rules (often called technical violations and referred to in this report as rule violations) and violations involving new offenses (referred to here as new offense violations).

He dont never be out a whole year. Human Rights Watch and the ACLU urge governments to build on this momentum, and divest from arrests and incarceration for supervision violations while investing in increasing access to jobs, housing, social services, and voluntary, community-based substance use disorder treatment and mental health servicesservices that have a record of improving public safety and that strengthen people and their communities. [230] , In Pennsylvania, nearly 20 percent of all state parole rule violations between 2016 and 2019 resulted from failing to report;[231] in Wisconsin, failure to report and absconding constituted 14 percent of all rule violations during those years.

[735], Its so easy to find a bag of heroin and so hard to find treatment. [371] Human Rights Watch interview with Romelo Booker, November 20, 2019.

[818] At the time, Hallman was serving five years of probation for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and attempting to flee from an officer.

Ibid, p. 561-63 (collecting cases).

[504], When people charged with minor violations finally get their day in court, the judge may simply sentence them to time served.

42-8-103(b). For an analysis of state laws limiting access to preliminary revocation hearings, see Cody Warner, The Waiting Game..

[459] For instance, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, many people admit to supervision violations in exchange for Alternative to Revocation (ATR) programswithout realizing that many of those programs are housed in MSDF, the same prison where they are often held pending revocation proceedings, and where they may serve a sentence following revocation.

Do not seek detention pending violation proceedings in cases involving rule violations (with the exception of absconding for the purpose of subverting supervision) as well as in cases involving conduct that should not be criminalized at all, such as possession of drugs for personal use or consensual sex work. [849] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Tom Reed, October 25, 2019; Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Toriano Goldman, January 24, 2020 (Goldman, a Black man on probation in Philadelphia, described overhearing his white probation officer act more friendly, and more lenient, to white people under supervision).

However, even with these systems, people end up getting arrested and held in custody for significant amounts of time, resulting in job loss and other disruptions.

I had to dislocate my hand for them to see me. A few days later, May went to the hospital for his injury, he said.

[420], White spent two months in jail waiting for a hearing.

9, No.

[802], In May 2019, police stopped Ruffin Toney, a Black man, for sitting in a parked car outside of a Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Kwik Trip convenience store.

Brett Sholtis, Pa.

The officers made a U-Turn to approach him. He told us that he remained living with and caring for his children. Indeed, an overwhelming majority of people waive their right to counsel, said Lowndes County Solicitor-General Justo Cabral. [579] Ibid. This ranges from issuing warnings; to imposing sanctions, such as mandated treatment, a few days or months in jail, or electronic monitoring; to pursuing revocation of their supervision, which generally means incarceration. [547] Ibid.

Glenn says that community support, rather than probation, helped him succeed, Letter threatening Valerie Todd, who was serving probation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with sanctions for failure to pay $270 in court costs after she missed one payment. On the wealthier end of the spectrum, few people (9%) on probation have annual incomes of $50,000 or more, while more than a quarter (28%) of those not on probation make at least $50,000 per year.

[686] Order Revoking Probation, Georgia v. Alonzo Flucas, 16CR514 (Lowndes County, Georgia October 4, 2018); Georgia Department of Corrections, Probation Detention Center, http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/Divisions/Facilities/ProbationDetentionCenters.

2019SC15240 (Lowndes County, Georgia). [482] Docket, Commonwealth v. Angel Ortiz, CP-51-CR-1205481of-1999 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

[110], Yet studies show that childrens brains are not fully developed. .

Roles of the Probation Officer In addition to being a sentencing advisor to the court, the probation officer is counselor, director to resources, and authority figure to monitor probation compliance and com-munity safety.

[267] Short of revocation, officers generally can impose sanctions without a hearing. PEW Charitable Trusts, Policy Reforms Can Strengthen Community Supervision, p. 26; PEW Charitable Trusts, To Safely Cut Incarceration, States Rethink Responses to Supervision Violations, July 16, 2019, https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2019/07/to-safely-cut-incarceration-states-rethink-responses-to-supervision-violations; Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Con - CON II Arrest Worksheet, https://www.pbpp.pa.gov/Parole%20Supervision/Documents/PBPP-347%20VSG.pdf; Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Evidence-Based Response to Violations, October 3, 2016, https://ffupstuff.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/doc-2016-guide-to-revoc.pdf.

Sometimes, the anxiety of navigating supervision drove them to use drugs, they said.[741].

[800] At the time, White was on probation for marijuana possession with intent to distribute and traffic infractions.

Nationwide, most people incarcerated for violating their supervision were in custody for rule violations, not for new offenses. In a jurisdiction that gives supervision time credit, that person might have to serve the last year of parole in jailbecause the 10 years in custody and nine years on supervision count as time served on their sentence. 6138(a)(2.1); Human Rights Watch e-mail communications with David Crowley, February 6, 2020. In many cases, when someone is criminally sentenced, they will find that they are facing criminal penalties that include Further, probation revocation hearings are only heard by a judge, and no juries are involved. Supervision, it is claimed, will keep people out of prison and help them get back on their feet.

[550] This data includes people whose supervision term ended because they completed their supervision sentence; their supervision was revoked (see Definitions and Terms) and they were sentenced to jail or prison; or their term ended for some other reason, such as that they absconded or died.

[343] Some jurisdictions require these hearings to be held within set time periods, such as within a few days or weeks of detention, while others simply require them to be held in a reasonable time. For instance, Pennsylvanias prison population has fallen by six percent since its peak in 2011.

[279] Rethinking Justice and Incarceration Panel, Makda Fessahaye, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 19, 2019.

which is not in the best interest of the public welfare or your rehabilitation.[122] In Georgia everyone under probation must avoid injurious and vicious habits.[123], Many of the people we spoke with said these rules make them nervous to even leave their homesespecially in communities where many people have criminal records and police are a constant presence.

Police claimed that Jackson did not have proper bike lights, and, Jackson told us, argued that his block was known for gangs and prostitution.

[596], Meanwhile, according to the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission, the vast majority78 percentof county probation revocations during those years were for rule violations, while only 22 percent of revocations resulted from new offenses.

302.113(9)(am); 61 Pa.C.S. Why isnt it just a shorter revocation?, Wisconsin State Representative Evan Goyke told us. [23] This report uses the term expressed by the interviewee when referring to their identity, and uses the term Latinx when referring generally to people of Latin American origin or descent.

[516] Rather than paying the fines, she would now have to do community service hours.

. [703] Jacques Baillargeon, et al, Parole Revocation Among Prison Inmates with Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders, Psychiatric Services, November 2009, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2981345/pdf/nihms208351.pdf, p. 2; Human Rights Watch interview with Valerie Todd, October 29, 2019; Human Rights Watch interview with Darius Hill (pseudonym), December 12, 2019; Human Rights Watch interview with Wayne Murphy, November 19, 2019; Human Rights Watch interview with Sarah Martin (pseudonym for last name), October 31, 2019.

That's her story.

Do not seek any sanctions, up to and including incarceration, for conduct that is beyond an individuals control or for the use of drugs or alcohol (see above recommendation to Supervision Departments).

[150] Human Rights Watch interview with Judge Karen Yvette Simmons, October 29, 2019; Human Rights Watch telephone interview with [name withheld], Wisconsin administrative law judge, January 8, 2020; Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Michael Nail, commissioner, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, February 19, 2020.

Given national survey data showing that people of all races and ethnicities use drugs (including marijuana) at similar rates,[259] these racial disparities in supervision violations point to a disproportionate impact on Black people and Native Americans that amounts to prohibited racial discrimination under international human rights law. . [166] Mario Salas and Angela Ciolfi, Driven By Dollars: State-by-State Analysis of Drivers License Suspension Laws for Failure to Pay Court Debt, Legal Aid Justice Center, 2017, https://www.justice4all.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Driven-by-Dollars.pdf, p. 2. Theyve already demonstrated that theyre not complying with the terms [of release], and you know youre going to be pursuing revocation, what good is letting someone out on bond? said Georgia DCS Commissioner Michael Nail.[324].

When she went in she was put in jail for the phone conversation that they recorded of them speaking. Likewise, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, certain people on probation and parole are released more quickly from jail through administrative disposition hearings.

See 37 Pa. Code 63.4 (standard parole conditions); 42 Pa. C.S.

[634], While these disparities exist across the country, they are particularly harsh in some jurisdictions covered for this report. Among other duties, parole and probation officers keep track of their clients whereabouts; make sure they dont miss a drug test or court hearing, or otherwise violate the terms of their release; and provide resources to help them stay out of trouble and out of jail. Where people have committed a serious offense in connection with diagnosed substance use disorder, participation in evidence-based drug treatment programs (that include access to Medication-Assisted Treatment where appropriate) may be ordered, so long as abstinence is not a condition of release.

Data provided statewide and county level numbers regarding admissions for state parole violations.

[857], US constitutional law requires a finding of discriminatory intent before courts will rule unconstitutional discriminatory practices that disproportionately burden a racial group.

[461] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Representative Evan Goyke, March 16, 2020. If youre poor and cant pay, theyll put your ass in jail, said Jack Long, a defense attorney who has represented many people on supervision in Brunswick, Georgia, near Savannah.

I can understand my son but what did we do to get this. [734] Human Rights Watch interview with Jasmine Jackson, October 29, 2019.

Further, provide sufficient resources for them, as well as transportation costs to and from those services and any other required meetings. [660], Living in public also leaves people vulnerable to arrest under laws that criminalize homelessness, such as panhandling and loitering bans, as well as drug, trespass, and disorderly conduct laws.

[676] Richardson clarified that he possesses a phone but cannot afford a data plan, so he can only use it when he has a Wi-Fi connection.