By David Reynolds
Star-News
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Since Christy VanSlyke started at the Wilmington office of the N.C. Division of Community Corrections a little over a year ago, covering cases for fellow probation officers who left has always been part of the job.
But in recent months, as a dozen probation officer positions have opened up for various reasons, the situation has gotten worse.
VanSlyke and other probation officers now manage about 90 cases each, according to a February memo citing “critical needs” at the office. VanSlyke says she had about 60-65 cases when she started in 2008. Internal e-mails from the office dated in late January say probation officers are overworked and that working together is “our only hope.”
“We’re really busy, and it’s stressful,” VanSlyke said of the current situation at the office. But she also said the office is moving quickly to fill open positions, and that other changes are in the works that will help probation officers better supervise offenders.
“I see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “I see the division moving in a better direction shortly.”
An interagency memo dated Feb. 3 said the shortage of probation officers at District 5 has stretched remaining officers to the limit. The memo requested, and the state has approved, reductions in some paperwork and supervisory requirements, to help the office manage its workload.
The temporary changes come at a time when some are calling for more supervised probation in the state’s judicial system.
On March 1, Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous asked the city council to push state legislators to “maximize” and reduce unsupervised probation. The request was made, Evangelous said, because the state’s justice system is too lenient on property-crime suspects, leading police to arrest many of the same people over and over again.
Thom Goolsby, a criminal defense attorney who is running for the N.C. Senate, said probation officers are overworked because North Carolina hasn’t built enough jails to hold everyone who should be incarcerated.
According to the Associated Press, the probation system, including the heavy caseloads of probation officers, came under scrutiny in 2008 when two men on probation were charged in connection with the killing of Eve Carson, who was the student body president at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Critical need
According to the memo the District 5 office sent to higher-ups at the Division of Community Corrections, the 12 vacancies left 828 cases in New Hanover County that have to be covered by other officers. It’s because of those “courtesy assignments” that the remaining probation officers now manage an average of more than 90 cases each, according to the memo.
A pair of internal e-mails sent to employees a week before the memo ask for suggestions on how to relieve the pressure employees are facing, and thank them for their hard work.
Judicial District Manager Jean Walker said the office, which also covers Pender County, normally has 59 officers who each manage between 60 and 70 cases.
One of the changes approved on a temporary basis as a result of the memo makes it so any contact a probation officer makes with an offender in the field counts as a home visit.
Walker said the measures are a plan to relieve officers and manage cases during the shortage.
“We wanted a backup plan to make sure everything was covered,” she said. “We’re kind of juggling resources.”
Meanwhile, Walker said, administrators are filling openings. Three probation officers have been hired since the Feb. 3 memo, and four other people have been offered jobs. In addition, she said, the division has brought in two probation officers from nearby counties to assist.
Keith Acree, public affairs director for the N.C. Department of Correction, said probation officers have a 10 percent yearly turnover rate, probably because the job can be stressful and dangerous.
DOC has installed new technology to make the job easier, Acree said, and the department also is working with legislators to try and increase salaries.
Statewide, DOC has slightly more than 100 open probation officer positions, Acree said. Conditional offers have been made for about 40 of those openings.
Earl Douglass, a retired probation officer who worked in District 5 until about eight years ago said carrying 80 to 90 cases wasn’t uncommon, though the recommended level was about 60.
Since probation officers visit offenders, sit in on court cases, and ensure offenders pay fines, get drug treatment, or meet other requirements imposed by the court, each additional case means juggling more work, Douglass said.
When cases shift from one officer to another there’s a transition period, Douglass said, because it takes time for officers to develop rapport with the offenders they supervise.
“The increased numbers increases the likelihood a case may go unsupervised or supervised to the level it needs to be,” Douglass said. “It’s a systemic situation.”
For Goolsby, problems stem from poor budgeting decisions by the General Assembly.
At one time, he said, probation was intended give a break to those offenders who tried to make good on their mistake. Now many people who should be in prison are on probation because judges don’t have anywhere else to put them, Goolsby said.
“We have a truly revolvingdoor prison system and there is very little punishment in North Carolina,” he said. “This is Russian roulette with innocent citizens’ lives.”
Copyright 2010 Star-News, Inc.