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Private Probation Firms Costing Georgia Taxpayers
Private Probation Firms Costing Georgia Taxpayers
After several probation companies operating in Georgia were sued last year, a TV news investigation on private probation yielded some persuasive perspectives.
Some probationers explained to WSB-TV that private probation firms–which account for about 40% of all probation services in Georgia–are causing more people to end up in jail for minor offenses like shoplifting, or running stop signs or driving on a suspended license because of exorbitant supervision fees.
Tomoria Wells spent 18 days in a Ware County Jail after stealing an outfit from JC Penney that cost $20. After her release, the bill from the private probation company contracted to supervise her was more than $1,300–much of it solely for supervision fees.
"It was horrible," she said.
Hills McGee, a disabled veteran who was arrested four years ago for public intoxication, spent 13 days in jail after he couldn't pay a $180 fee to a private probation company. McGee's attorney, John Bell, said his client is like so many who go to jail because they can't pay a debt.
"The only focus appears to be how can we make him pay some money, even if it means locking him up at a far greater cost than the money he owed," said Bell, who's taken McGee's case to federal court. "He spent 13 nights in our county jail for failure to pay their fee of $180. Those 13 nights probably cost Richmond County close to $1,000."
Judge James Anderson III, however, said he believes that private probation has worked well in Sandy Springs, Ga., where he presides.
"As long as it is run in an ethical manner, I have no problems with it whatsoever," Anderson said, adding that he wouldn't revoke someone's probation because they couldn't afford to pay.
Dale Allen, the chief probation officer in Athens-Clarke County, told WSB that contracting probation out to for-profit companies is a potential conflict of interest. Which is why, after a 2007 audit, his county ended its deal with a private probation company and switched back to county-run probation.
"They wanted accountability," said Allen, who used to work for a private probation firm. "(The switch) saved this county $700,000 in jail costs. We can't afford to keep putting people in jail, it's not working."
Source: www.wsbtv.com
