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Judiciary wants
more probation officers,
expanded drug courts

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By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Adult probation offices statewide are experiencing "probation overcrowding," court officials say.

That's why the Judiciary has made hiring more Circuit Court probation officers among its top budget requests this year. Also a top priority is expanding the drug court program to all counties.

In its biennium budget request to the Legislature, the Judiciary is seeking funding to hire an additional 14 probation officers -- eight on Oahu, two for Maui, three for the Big Island and one for Kauai.

The three probation officers requested for the Big Island will deal specifically in domestic violence cases.

As of last July, there were 30 probation officers on Oahu, nine on the Maui, nine on the Big Island and three on Kauai. There were 9,700 felony offenders on probation statewide as of Dec. 31. On Oahu alone, probation officers handle an average 206 cases.

The average on the mainland is one probation officer to 124 cases, said Michael Broderick, administrative director of the courts.

While Oahu alone had sought 27 positions, "we're trying to be sensitive to the state's economic condition, and we believe the request we're making this year would be of great help," Broderick said.

A study published last June by the state attorney general on felony probation from 1996 to 1999 yielded promising statistics. Probation had a 30 percent recidivism -- meaning seven out of 10 placed on probation were not being rearrested.

While bringing in 14 probation officers will not reduce recidivism, "Bottom line is, we want to get a handle on what we can do," said Ronald Hajime, program administrator for the Adult Probation Division on Oahu.

"With 14 positions, I'm not sure if we're capable of doing more than stem the tide of caseload."

If the Legislature grants the request, "we will try our best to reduce it and make an impact," he said.

Heavy workload

Ultimately, the public benefits when offenders receive the services they need to turn their lives around, Hajime said.

The primary responsibilities of probation officers are to provide information to the courts so judges can sentence offenders and to supervise individuals placed under court supervision.

Doing a pre-sentence investigation requires a lot of work, Hajime said. Probation officers have to verify information on defendants, including their criminal histories; talk to family members, former employers, doctors; or contact victims to allow them to make statements -- and do all of this under time constraints.

"Those individuals who do the work, they never see the light at the end of the tunnel," Hajime said.

The first probation officers hark back to 1937. Since then, probation's function has expanded, and probation officers are assuming more tasks because of the changing needs of society, the community and changes in the laws, Hajime said. "We have our own probation overcrowding."

The probation division also supervises offenders on conditional release -- those who are acquitted by reason of mental illness but are currently receiving treatment in the community.

Monitoring these offenders and ensuring they are complying with treatment are time-consuming tasks, but it is necessary to ensure that the offender does not pose a danger to the public, Hajime said.

Probation officers also are responsible for researching an offender's background when they seek conditional release. That information is shared with court-appointed doctors who evaluate whether the offender should be released.

Money-saving drug courts

The Judiciary has made drug courts its top budget priority and is asking for $617,000 in the first year of the biennium and $1.3 million in the second year.

Riding on the success of the Oahu Drug Court and the newly established Maui Drug Court, the Judiciary would like to open drug courts on the Big Island and Kauai.

The drug courts offer a cost-effective alternative to incarceration by offering those who qualify access to drug treatment, follow-up services and monitoring with the use of incentives and graduated sanctions.

In his State of the Judiciary address earlier this week, Chief Justice Ronald Moon said the drug court on Oahu saves taxpayers about $600,000 to $800,000 a year -- the difference between what it costs to treat offenders and to incarcerate them.

Since its inception in 1996, 165 clients have graduated from the Oahu Drug Court, Broderick said. The recidivism rate is 17.5 percent, or 27, who have been rearrested since completing the program.