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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/08/2011 00 Misc Distributed at the Meeting �7 , 6u +e� 1 ��gl1, WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS �� TP�'SOr� COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS DIVISION C_ NOVEMBER 2011 Ron Pedersen, Field Administrator for Community Corrections in 11 counties across Eastern Washington. The following is a synopsis of the services the Washington State Department of Corrections provides: • The Community Corrections Division supervises about 16,00C) offenders across the state. D As of October 31, 2011, there were 772 offenders on Active Supervision within Yakima County. ✓ 385 (almost 50 %) are classified HIGH RISK TO COMMIT A VIOLENT CRIME, such as murder, drive -by shootings, etc. ✓ 209 (about 27 %) are classified HIGH RISK TO COMMIT A NON - VIOLENT CRIME. Most are drug related crimes. ✓ 173 (about 22 %) are classified MODERATE or LOW - RISK TO COMMIT A NEW CRIME. As a result of law changes over the past few years, these classified offenders have been removed from the community corrections supervision roles. ✓ Approximately 23% of these 772 offenders are currently supervised for a sex offense. • Some additional high level functions the Department of Corrections Community Corrections provides include: D Pre - Sentence Investigations ordered by the Courts ➢ Risk and Needs process and then development of Offender Supervision Plan (OSP) ➢ Manage complex array of supervision types ➢ Conduct internal violation hearings processes and seer -ing Sar`c - ➢ Enforce the new offender tolling law D Work with DSHS, CPS, etc. • There are 5 Field Offices (formerly known as Parole Offices) in Yakima County supervised by 4 Community Corrections Supervisors and 30 Community Corrections Officers (formerly known as Parole Officers). These officers currently supervise 772 offenders that have released from both prisons and jails, as well as the Interstate Compact. Many of these offenders are gang members, mentally ill, and sex offenders. • Most people do not know where their local DOC Field Office is or how community corrections officers supervise offenders. Complete offender supervision is a combination of field and office contacts and working with external stakeholders to protect their interest. o Community corrections officers drive unmarked cars and conduct field visits in plain clothes at homes, apartments, homeless encampments and wooded areas. o Two field and one office visit o Contacts with employers o Contacts with victims o Contacts with collaterals o Work with law enforcement o 24/7 Response by CCOs o Monitoring field contacts with homeless offenders including homeless sex offenders • Community supervision is not just surveillance and searching for violations. It is also connecting with offenders and with resources so they pose Tess of a risk to public safety. o Department sponsored chemical dependency, domestic ‘iiolence, and sex offender treatment o SAM, Partners in Parenting, Moral Recognition Therapy o Seriously mentally ill offenders o Connecting offenders with community housing, programs, financial assistance, etc. • CCD transitions offenders back into the community by investigating plans of their release that are submitted six months before they complete their incarceration. This investigation mitigates risk by approving /disapproving release addresses based on victim concerns, potential new victims, community resources, treatment resources, and offender employment. o Victim services division /staff o Wraparounds, addressing daily victim concerns and violations o Immediate and future victims o Housing Voucher Program o FA approves /denies release plans • The Department.of Corrections has special, law enforcement deputized staff to assist with local law enforcement and U.S. Marshal Drug and Violent Offender task forces that look for violent offenders who are unaccounted for. HOW COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS CONTINUES TO EVOLVE IN OFFENDER SUPERVISION: Research shows that close supervision with programming of high -risk offenders decreases the likelihood that they will commit a crime. • CCD is in the process now of studying ways to reengineer community corrections in a way that both reduces costs and is based on what research shows is most effective. ➢ There is no evidence that placing an offender in a jail for 30, 60, or 90 days has a significant impact on their future behavior. In many cases it has a destabilizing impact because the offender is likely to come out jobless and homeless, which can make them MORE of a risk to public safety. ➢ As part of the reengineering effort, CCD is looking at data - driven models for violators that have violators spend minimal time in confinement along with targeted programming that reduce the likelihood that they will commit a new crime. • Community Corrections is an integral part of a two -part process designed to increase public safety. This process begins with prison /jail, moves to community risk based transition and release efforts, and finishes with the intensive, structured supervision of the offender. For an average offender 16 months in the community.