Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 120
01/12/2005 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Alaska Court System | |
| Department of Law | |
| Department of Public Safety | |
| Public Defender Agency | |
| Office of Public Advocacy | |
| Department of Corrections | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
January 12, 2005
1:10 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Lesil McGuire, Chair
Representative Tom Anderson
Representative John Coghill
Representative Pete Kott
Representative Nancy Dahlstrom
Representative Les Gara
Representative Max Gruenberg
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Berta Gardner
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Jay Ramras
Representative Mike Kelly
Senator Ralph Seekins
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW(S): ALASKA COURT SYSTEM; DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY;
DEPARTMENT OF LAW; PUBLIC DEFENDER AGENCY; OFFICE OF PUBLIC
ADVOCACY; DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
DOUG WOOLIVER, Administrative Attorney
Administrative Staff
Office of the Administrative Director
Alaska Court System (ACS)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the overview of the ACS.
GREGG D. RENKES, Attorney General
Department of Law (DOL)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the overview of the DOL.
SUSAN PARKES, Deputy Attorney General
Criminal Division
Office of the Attorney General
Department of Law (DOL)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Assisted with the overview of the DOL.
SCOTT J, NORDSTRAND, Deputy Attorney General
Civil Division
Office of the Attorney General
Department of Law (DOL)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Assisted with the overview of the DOL.
WILLIAM TANDESKE, Commissioner
Department of Public Safety (DPS)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the overview of the DPS.
BARBARA BRINK, Director
Central Office
Public Defender Agency (PDA)
Department of Administration (DOA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the overview of the PDA.
JOSHUA FINK, Public Advocate
Anchorage Office
Office of Public Advocacy (OPA)
Department of Administration (DOA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the overview of the OPA.
MARC ANTRIM, Commissioner
Department of Corrections (DOC)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the overview of the DOC.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR LESIL McGUIRE called the House Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:10:09 PM [stated as 1:05 p.m.].
Representatives McGuire, Anderson, Coghill, Kott, and Dahlstrom
were present at the call to order. Representatives Gara and
Gruenberg arrived as the meeting was in progress.
Representatives Gardner, Wilson, Seaton, Ramras, and Kelly and
Senator Seekins were also in attendance.
^OVERVIEW(S)
^ALASKA COURT SYSTEM
1:10:17 PM
CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the first order of business would
be the overview by the Alaska Court System (ACS).
1:11:07 PM
DOUG WOOLIVER, Administrative Attorney, Administrative Staff,
Office of the Administrative Director, Alaska Court System
(ACS), presented the overview of the ACS. He highlighted that
the judicial branch of government accounts for less than 2
percent of the state's operating budget, and, like the
legislative branch of government, handles its own operations
internally for things such as human resources issues,
procurement issues, legal issues, technology issues, and fiscal
issues. He mentioned that the ACS will not be testifying in
support of or in opposition to legislation; instead, it will
merely speak to the costs and any potential technical problems
pertaining to the implementation of legislation.
MR. WOOLIVER relayed that Alaska has a unified judiciary - only
eight other states have a similar system; that the ACS's funding
comes exclusively from the legislature; that the ACS's
administrative director is a "constitutional officer"; and that
Alaska is the only state that combines all three of these
factors. Alaska has four statutorily established judicial
districts: Southeast Alaska makes up the First Judicial
District, Northern and Northwest Alaska make up the Second
Judicial District, Southcentral Alaska makes up the Third
Judicial District, and Interior Alaska and Bethel make up the
Fourth Judicial District.
MR. WOOLIVER mentioned that of the three levels of court, the
Alaska Supreme court, which is based in Anchorage, has five
members, and hears oral arguments monthly in Fairbanks and twice
a year in Juneau. Also, the Alaska Supreme Court must hear
every civil case that comes before it regardless of merit; the
only type of cases the Alaska Supreme Court typically doesn't
hear involve criminal appeals. In the early 1980s, the
Legislature created the Alaska Court of Appeals for the purpose
of taking some of the workload off of the Alaska Supreme Court;
the Alaska Court of Appeals is located in Anchorage, and has
three members.
MR. WOOLIVER said that the court of general jurisdiction is the
Alaska Superior Court, consisting of 32 judges in 13 locations,
and it primarily has exclusive jurisdiction over felonies,
juvenile cases, CINA cases, cases involving domestic relations,
and probate cases. Although the district court handles more
cases overall than the Alaska Superior Court, most complaints
from constituents about the court system pertain to superior
court cases because the Alaska Superior Court handles highly
emotional cases involving children. He mentioned that most
complaints involving custody issues are legitimate, and so the
ACS, by revising court rules and practices, seeks to make that
system better.
1:17:52 PM
MR. WOOLIVER said that district court hears more cases overall,
and generally hears civil cases valued at a $100,000 or less and
misdemeanor cases. There are two types of district court
judges: magistrates - of which there are 39 - and district
court judges - of which there are 19 in seven locations. He
mentioned that there are now two new district court judges, one
in Kenai and one in Palmer, and that Palmer is close to passing
Fairbanks as the court with the second highest caseload in
Alaska. The district court and superior court handled a total
of 151,000 cases, which is about a 3 percent increase over
fiscal year (FY) 03 and about a 6 percent increase over FY 04.
Trial courts as a whole have an overall caseload increase of 3-4
percent over last year, and felony filings are up 4 percent.
MR. WOOLIVER characterized the last as bad news because felony
cases take a tremendous amount of time and money to handle; for
example, the trial rate is higher, and often involve probation
and motions for post conviction relief. Felony cases now make
up 25 percent of the superior court caseload, and most other
categories of cases saw an increase, including domestic
relations cases, which, like felony cases, come back to the
court again and again. He mentioned that the district court has
experienced an overall increase in its caseload of about 2
percent.
1:21:03 PM
MR. WOOLIVER, turning to the issue of therapeutic courts,
acknowledged the legislature's support in that regard, and said
that the ACS appreciates that support. Most therapeutic courts
are typically started by trial court judges who are frustrated
by the repeat cases related to alcohol and drug abuse or mental
health issues. Therapeutic courts aim to address this
"revolving door" situation by focusing on the underlying causes;
this approach, however, does take more time per defendant.
1:22:53 PM
MR. WOOLIVER reminded the committee that there is more to the
criminal justice system than just the judiciary. Many agencies
in addition to the ACS are impacted when the legislature sets
policy via legislation and the budget process, including the
Department of Public Safety, the Department of Law, the Public
Defender Agency, the Office of Public Advocacy, and the
Department of Corrections; all these agencies are impacted when
more people are sent to court and, like the ACS, some of the
agencies don't have the ability to turn down cases. Therefore,
he noted, if the ACS asks for a new judge because its workload
is increasing, for example, it must get that position filled or
all the other agencies in the criminal justice system will feel
the impact; he then mentioned examples of how the other agencies
could be impacted in such a situation.
^DEPARTMENT OF LAW
1:26:07 PM
CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the next order of business would be
the overview by the Department of Law (DOL).
The committee took an at-ease from 1:26 p.m. to 1:27 p.m.
1:27:21 PM
GREGG D. RENKES, Attorney General, Department of Law (DOL),
presented the overview of the DOL, the statutory duties of which
are to provide legal services to state government and to
prosecute crime. Included within the DOL's general duties is
the goal of making communities safer through more effective
prosecution of crime. The DOL prosecutes all cases involving
violations of state law, and represents the state in all civil
actions in which the state is a party. In addition, the DOL
administers state legal services - including the furnishing of
written legal opinions to the governor, the legislature, and all
state officers and departments - and gives legal advice on
current laws and proposed legislation upon request by the
legislature.
ATTORNEY GENERAL RENKES thanked the legislature for recently
passing significant changes to the criminal statute. He noted
that he now co-chairs the "federal/state Rural Justice in Law
Enforcement Commission," that the legislature will have a
representative on each of that commission's four working groups,
that he is encouraged by the commission's process so far, and
that he will relay to the legislature the commission's
forthcoming report and recommendations.
1:32:48 PM
ATTORNEY GENERAL RENKES relayed that much of his time is
dedicated to supporting the governor's natural resource
development objectives - in particular with regard to issues
involving the gas pipeline - and that he is primarily
responsible for tariff matters. He mentioned recent
negotiations regarding the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS),
that he has recently filed a challenge with the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding current tariff rates, and
that he is also pursuing title to Alaska's submerged lands,
navigable waters, and historic trails. In response to
questions, he said that the FERC does have the ability to
review/renegotiate a tariff rate before the end of the current
pipeline agreement, but that retroactive reimbursement might not
be possible under a discrimination challenge, though the DOL
will be as aggressive as possible with regard seeking that type
of reimbursement.
1:38:14 PM
ATTORNEY GENERAL RENKES went on to mention the DOL's concern
regarding children and seniors, and characterized the state's
responsibility towards children and seniors as paramount. He
also mentioned the increase in cyber crime, and that drugs and
alcohol continue to plague communities. In closing, he
mentioned that the DOL has three main divisions - civil,
criminal, and administrative - and mentioned the handouts he
provided the committee, including last year's annual report.
1:44:34 PM
SUSAN PARKES, Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Division, Office
of the Attorney General, Department of Law (DOL), mentioned that
almost all prosecution in the state is done by DOL prosecutors,
that the DOL has exclusive felony jurisdiction and almost
exclusive misdemeanor jurisdiction, and that the DOL's primary
function is to prosecute adult criminal cases and, as of last
year, juvenile delinquency cases. The DOL has 13 offices and
approximately 95 prosecutors across the state, as well as 23
victim witness paralegals, who, in addition to providing support
to the attorneys that go to court, fulfill the DOL's obligations
with regard to victims' rights. The DOL also has an Office of
Special Prosecutions & Appeals (OSPA) that handles all felony
appellate work and prosecutions pertaining to specific topics -
these prosecutors are specially funded by various departments
specific to the different topics.
MS. PARKES mentioned that the Criminal Division's caseload has
increased steadily over the last 10 years; there were
approximately 9000 felony cases and 22,000 misdemeanor cases
referred to the division, which also handled over 200 appeals.
The felony caseload has increased 50 percent from what it was 10
years ago, and to help keep up with this increase, the DOL,
through the legislature's support, has added three federally
funded and seven general fund (GF) funded prosecutor positions
that have been distributed throughout the state.
REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked Ms. Parkes whether her division has
enough resources.
1:51:40 PM
MS. PARKES said her division could be doing a better job of
prosecuting offenders and following up with those prosecutions
if it had more resources.
1:52:29 PM
SCOTT J, NORDSTRAND, Deputy Attorney General, Civil Division,
Office of the Attorney General, Department of Law (DOL), first
provided members with a brochure to illustrate one of the DOL's
new ways of recruiting new attorneys, and then listed the Civil
Division's ten different sections - Labor and State Affairs
Section; Natural Resources Section; Environmental Section; Oil,
Gas & Mining Section; Commercial/Fair Business Section; Human
Services Section; Torts and Worker's Compensation Section;
Transportation Section; Collections and Support Section;
Regulatory Affairs & Public Advocacy (RAPA) - and mentioned
which types of cases would be heard by the different sections.
He remarked that recruitment of new attorneys is an ongoing
issue and creates a significant amount of work, though in the
two years since his appointment, he has hired over 45 lawyers.
In response to comments, he mentioned that in addition to losing
attorneys to private practice, the DOL loses attorneys to
federal practice.
^DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
2:00:58 PM
CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the next order of business would be
the overview by the Department of Public Safety (DPS).
2:01:04 PM
WILLIAM TANDESKE, Commissioner, Department of Public Safety
(DPS), presented the overview of the DPS. He mentioned that
over the past two years, the DPS has focused on results and is
aligning itself for the future, with one goal being to identify
those things that the DPS is responsible for and then do them
well. He referred to the handouts he'd provided, listed some of
the various aspects of the DPS, and mentioned that the Division
of Alaska State Troopers has undergone significant
reorganization and has six core missions. The reorganization
has allowed the division to tap into resources all over the
state and has created a fundamental change in how it conducts
business. He mentioned some examples of how the aforementioned
reorganization has assisted the DPS in its overall mission,
particularly with regard to fire prevention.
2:11:55 PM
COMMISSIONER TANDESKE thanked the committee for the recent
legislation authorizing the DPS to collect more convicted
offender samples, and detailed statistics and examples of how
that legislation has helped in solving crimes, as well as how
other advances in technology have helped in that regard. In
response to a question, he noted that an autopsy may not be
warranted in all cases depending on the totality of
circumstances. He mentioned that the legislature has added more
investigators/personnel, and that this has resulted in more
meaningful results with regard to solving homicides.
COMMISSIONER TANDESKE echoed Mr. Wooliver's remarks regarding
the fact that anything affecting one aspect of the criminal
justice system affects every other aspect. He mentioned that in
rural Alaska, the DPS is trying to limit deaths by water,
suicide, accident, domestic violence, and drugs and alcohol, by
addressing some of the causal factors. He also mentioned that
methamphetamine laboratories continue to be a problem, though
the DPS is seizing more such places, which are dangerous because
of fire hazard and the caustic chemicals involved, and that
upcoming legislation will address the issue of children being
present at such locations. He noted that wildlife protection
activities in '04 mirror those of '03, though they include
additional duties such as performing sex offender compliance
checks; the latter, he indicated, are hard to do without
sufficient staff.
2:20:45 PM
COMMISSIONER TANDESKE relayed that through the aforementioned
reorganization, six more court service officer positions have
been realized without an increase in the DPS's budget, but
mentioned that an additional four such positions are being
requested via the DPS's '06 budget request. He reiterated his
and Mr. Wooliver's comments that changes to one aspect of the
criminal justice system affect all other aspects. In response
to questions, he outlined some of the different types of
aircraft the DPS owns, some of the uses to which they are put,
and gave examples of how certain types of aircraft are best
suited for certain situations.
^PUBLIC DEFENDER AGENCY
2:26:30 PM
CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the next order of business would be
the overview by the Public Defender Agency (PDA).
2:27:12 PM
BARBARA BRINK, Director, Central Office, Public Defender Agency
(PDA), Department of Administration (DOA), presented the
overview of the PDA. She said that the PDA's mission is to
represent indigent Alaskans in particular types of litigation;
that the PDA was created by the legislature in 1969 in response
to the U.S. Supreme Court case, Gideon v. Wainwright, and was
later added to the DOA; and that the PDA has 13 offices across
the state - in locations that have superior courts - and cover
over 42 magistrate courts. Remarking that the PDA operates on a
"shoestring," she noted that last year, the PDA was appointed to
over 21,000 new criminal cases, which were handled by 73
attorneys, 13 investigators, 33 support staff, and one
paralegal.
MS. BRINK explained that the PDA is required by the court to
take these cases, which constitute 80 percent of all criminal
cases in the state; that the court makes the eligibility
determination; and that one of the factors used in that
determination is whether a person's household earns less than
the national poverty level, though there are other factors taken
into account as well. She pointed out that the PDA's clients
are not getting a free lawyer; rather, clients are responsible
for paying their attorney fees, which are collected by the DOL
and go into the general fund. After listing some of the types
of cases the PDA gets appointed to, she reiterated that the PDA
can neither control it's caseload nor reduce it; the PDA is
required by the constitution and the rules of professional
responsibility to represent each client fully to the best of its
ability.
MS. BRINK referred to large charts she brought detailing the
PDA's increase in new cases from 1988 to last year, and the
differences between caseload and workload: for example,
misdemeanors make up 57 percent of the PDA's caseload but only
30 percent of the PDA's workload, felonies make up 28 percent of
the PDA's caseload but 33 percent of the PDA's workload, and
CINA cases and family court cases make up 11 percent of the
PDA's caseload but 23 percent of the PDA's workload. She noted
that the number of felony cases, which are labor intensive, are
on the rise, as are the number of appellate cases. Referring to
another chart detailing population increases in the Matanuska-
Susitna valley, she noted that that is where a lot of the PDA's
resources are destined.
MS. BRINK said she that is proud of the PDA's accomplishments in
FY 04, and that she thinks it has done a good job in
representing its 21,000 new cases despite its shortage of
support staff. She pointed out that in addition to its
casework, the PDA tries to help set criminal justice policy by
participating in legislative hearings and a computer integration
project, and highlighted that recent changes have enabled the
PDA to do more paperwork via electronic means. She added that
the PDA is proud of representation in the therapeutic courts,
and echoed Mr. Wooliver's comments regarding how all agencies in
the criminal justice system are linked together and how it is
essential that each aspect of the criminal justice system be
adequately funded. She mentioned that a 1998 legislative audit
indicated that if the PDA is not funded adequately, it results
in delays and continuances, in a huge turnover of staff, in
reversal of cases, in higher client complaints and [Alaska] Bar
grievances, and in unnecessary incarcerations.
2:41:26 PM
MS. BRINK mentioned that according to the aforementioned audit,
between 1988 and 1997, the PDA's caseload outpaced its funding
by 40 percent, and was 41 attorneys short of being able to
handle its caseload, which is one of the primary reasons
attorneys leave the PDA. She noted that each of her attorneys
works a minimum of 21 hours of overtime a week, every week; that
the average salary is approximately $9,000 less per year than
that of attorneys working for the DOL; and that the current
ratio of PDA attorneys to paralegal staff is 1:73, and 1:15 with
regard to other administrative support staff. She concluded by
saying that the PDA needs more resources to do it's job, and
that she is blessed with the hardest working state employees one
could ever find anywhere, that they are very committed to their
work.
^OFFICE OF PUBLIC ADVOCACY
2:43:00 PM
CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the next order of business would be
the overview by the Office of Public Advocacy (OPA).
2:43:10 PM
JOSHUA FINK, Public Advocate, Anchorage Office, Office of Public
Advocacy (OPA), Department of Administration (DOA), presented
the overview of the OPA. He explained that the OPA provides
legal advocacy and guardianship services to vulnerable Alaskans,
and has three distinct and separate core functions: child
advocacy and CINA cases; guardianship and conservatorship
services for incapacitated adults; and representation of PDA
clients when the PDA has a conflict. The child advocacy section
of the OPA contains the largest allocation of OPA staff, with 21
professional staff advocating for children. Under court rule
and state and federal law, guardians ad litem are appointed in
all CINA cases, and are charged with providing a neutral voice
to the court in advocating for the best interest of children in
state custody. A full time guardian ad litem carries a caseload
of approximately 85-90 children. He mentioned that the OPA also
utilizes 214 court-appointed special advocates (CASAs) -
federally sponsored volunteers who work with and are supervised
by guardians ad litem - and mentioned the types of cases to
which a guardian ad litem might be appointed.
MR. FINK, with regard to the public guardian section of OPA,
relayed that the OPA is appointed to provide guardianship and
conservatorship services to those with mental illnesses,
dementia, brain injuries, and developmental disabilities.
Guardians and conservators handle financial, housing, legal, and
medical decisions for their clients. He relayed that the
appointment of an OPA guardian or conservator is an appointment
of last resort; the court is instructed to first look elsewhere
for possible guardians and conservators. He also mentioned that
20 percent of guardianships and conservatorships created by the
probate court are assigned to the OPA, and that the average
caseload is approximately 65 cases, which is 20 cases more than
the national standard.
MR. FINK detailed the location of his employees, and mentioned
that the public guardian section of the OPA is also mandated to
provide information and referrals to the public regarding
guardianships and conservatorships and how to become such. The
OPA is also statutorily obligated to provide representation to
subjects of guardianship petitions, though that services is
often contracted out to prevent conflicts, as are most visitor
services wherein the court has appointed someone to gather
information pertaining to a specific guardianship. He provided
some examples of the CINA cases that the OPA might be assigned
to, and noted that the number of CINA cases continues to grow.
MR. FINK mentioned that he'd recently established each of the
OPA's offices as separate law firms, and instituted "an ethical
wall" between the Anchorage criminal and civil sections; these
changes have reduced conflicts and the need for outside
contracts. He also mentioned that these changes have allowed
him to increase his staff by 34 percent, while decreasing his
budget, because of the ability to keep more work in house. The
OPA's other accomplishments this year include the opening of
offices in Palmer and Bethel, and the scrutinizing of
contractors to ensure the use of more cost effective
contractors. Additionally, the OPA has established
preauthorization procedures for staff or contractor travel and
for investigation or expert requests - now, if authorization is
not sought beforehand, the charges won't be paid - and
procedures for collecting fees where appropriate, having
collected $260,000 in 2003 and $480,000 in 2004.
MR. FINK mentioned that because of recently passed legislation,
private guardians and conservators are now regulated, and his
hope is that such will encourage the use of private
organizations and help develop the industry. He also mentioned
that he is evaluating his caseloads in Fairbanks, Kenai, Nome,
and Juneau to see if a new office would be more cost effective
than using a contractor, and has implemented a new case
management system, which will provide him with more accurate
statistics for the purpose of evaluating the OPA's caseload and
contacting costs. In conclusion, he remarked that the DOA has
been very helpful in providing additional support staff for the
OPA, which, in Anchorage, for example, only employs one and a
half persons to support its professional staff of 27.
REPRESENTATIVE GARA thanked the OPA and the PDA for all their
hard work.
^DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
2:57:15 PM
CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the last order of business would be
the overview by the Department of Corrections (DOC).
2:57:35 PM
MARC ANTRIM, Commissioner, Department of Corrections (DOC),
presented the overview of the DOC. He referred to handouts
provided to the committee, and relayed that the DOC's mission is
to protect the public by incarcerating offenders, which is done
via three operational divisions: the Division of Institutions,
the Division of Probation and Parole, and the Division of
Administrative Services. Referring to a handout he called a
daily count sheet, he said it shows where the DOC's loads are in
each of its facilities. He relayed that the DOC's system-wide
emergency capacity is 3,206; that yesterday's count totaled
3,322 prisoners; and that "this" is typical, and necessitates a
lot of prisoner movement between those facilities that are over
capacity and those that aren't. There are 12 institutions in
state, and there are 1,032 authorized positions with roughly 750
being correctional officer positions. He referred to a colored
chart showing the DOC's rate of growth and projected rate of
growth, and offered numerical statistics corresponding to that
chart.
COMMISSIONER ANTRIM mentioned that in addition to the 12 in-
state facilities, the DOC also manages prisoners "in four
contracts," the largest being the DOC's private facility in
Arizona, wherein 751 offenders are housed; has contracts with
three vendors for community residential centers throughout the
state - as of yesterday, there are 686 offenders in these
centers; and has an electronic monitoring program based
primarily in Anchorage that currently monitors 120 offenders.
The DOC also supervises a community jail program, which consists
of 14 community jails operated with funds from the state; these
community jails currently house 141 offenders. He noted that in
the governor's budget for fiscal year (FY) 06, the DOC is asking
for a 10 percent increase for the latter program.
COMMISSIONER ANTRIM pointed out that the DOC has experienced a
3.9 percent increase in growth just in the last year, and
supervises almost 10,000 people, either directly in its
institutions or in its field probation offices; currently, the
DOC is supervising 4,907 offenders. He remarked that the
Division of Probation and Parole has seen an expansion with
regard to sex offenders, and is supervising 7.5 percent more
such individuals this year than last year. He remarked that the
Division of Probation and Parole is very taxed and has many
masters - performing different tasks for the DOC, the ACS, and
the State Board of Parole - and offered statistics pertaining to
the Division of Probation and Parole's increasing workload, and
noted that the division has not had a corresponding increase in
staff.
COMMISSIONER ANTRIM also echoed Mr. Wooliver's comments with
regard to the criminal justice system consisting of many
agencies. He noted that in addition to the offenders currently
being supervised, there are approximately 850 felons "on abscond
status," which are offenders who have failed to report to their
probation officers or who are otherwise out of contact; he
mentioned an "abscond web site," which is intended to enlist the
public's help in catching these offenders.
COMMISSIONER ANTRIM said that it is not true that the current
administration has an attitude of "lock them up and throw away
the key"; instead, because the DOC is required to take in and
treat every offender, it has expanded most of its programs in an
effort to provide adequate services to all prisoners. For
example, the DOC is the largest provider of mental health
services in the state, with an average monthly increase of 120
new patients. He mentioned recently passed legislation that has
allowed the DOC to shift some of its treatment expenses to other
providers, and noted that this has been very helpful with regard
cost control.
COMMISSIONER ANTRIM, in closing, offered statistics regarding
prisoners diagnosed with mental illness or other chronic
problems, and listed the names of various organizations and
substance abuse treatment centers offering assistance. He
indicated that the DOC is striving to be a place where, if
offenders want to change and choose to change, they will be
offered the resources to do so. With regard to the DOC's sex
offender program, he mentioned that the assessment model has
been changed so as to give probation officers a much clearer
picture of the risk such offenders present at time of release,
and that the DOC is in the process of moving to what is referred
to as "the containment model," which involves intensive
supervision and polygraph testing.
3:09:21 PM
CHAIR McGUIRE said the committee would like a formal
presentation regarding the sex offender [containment] model as
soon as it is convenient.
REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked whether the DOC will be monitoring any
proposed changes to the current sentencing scheme.
COMMISSIONER ANTRIM said the DOC would be paying very close
attention to any proposed changes in that regard.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 3:10 p.m.
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