During the week of July 12th through the 18th, 2015, people across the United States and Canada will join together to recognize the work that probation, parole and community supervision professionals do for our public safety. This year, we also celebrate the global effort to minimize incarceration while supporting re-entry of those who are supervised in the community.
Today in America, there are over 5 million adults on community supervision and most of these individuals are monitored by pretrial, probation and parole officers. Monitoring may take the form of home contacts, drug testing, making sure the offender attends counseling sessions and helping offenders to find suitable housing and employment. Many officers also supervise offenders using electronic monitoring equipment which requires expert knowledge of newer technologies.
Budget shortfalls mean that we must be creative in finding solutions to making sure those supervised have the support needed to find jobs, housing and treatment. By collaborating with community leaders and volunteering their own time off work, many officers are making a difference while faced with expanding caseloads and additional responsibilities.
Pinal County Adult Probation provides Pretrial, Presentence, and Probation Supervision Services to the court. Adult Probation manages over 1800 offenders placed on supervised probation and approximately 70 individuals placed on pretrial release.
Pinal County Juvenile Court Services currently supervises 416 juveniles from diversion to probation and oversees 1,141 dependency cases. Volunteers within the court system help bridge the gap by supporting many activities like restorative justice initiatives and CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).
Members of our community are encouraged to join together during Probation, Parole & Community Supervision Week to honor those who work to make our communities a safer place to live.
Respectfully,
Denise Smith, Director -Juvenile Court Services
Cindy Roup, Acting Chief -Adult Probation