Governor Perdue Announces Improvements to Probation System
Changes will speed warrants for violators, provide more information to law enforcement
Governor Perdue
Signs SB 920 Into Law
On July 30, 2009, Governor Perdue announced significant reforms to the probation system that will speed the process of obtaining warrants for parole commission violators and put more information into the hands of law enforcement officers on the streets.
These reforms include the following changes:
• The Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission
will respond to requests for warrants within 24 hours;
• Probation officers will receive a response to a
violation report within that same 24 hours;
• If a warrant is issued it will be entered into the DCI
network immediately; and
• Law enforcement officers across North Carolina will
have immediate access to information about probationers
and prison inmates on their vehicle computers whenever a
license check is conducted.
Since the computer system for law enforcement vehicles was activated on June 24, 2009, officers have entered roughly 128,000 queries and 1,146 probation absconders have been arrested.
In
addition, the Governor signed Senate Bill 920 into law
in a ceremony at the Raleigh Police department. Some
key components of the legislation are as follows:
• Allow probation officers the authority to perform
warrantless searches on supervised probationers;
• Give law enforcement officers the ability to perform
warrantless searches if they have reasonable suspicion
that the probationer is engaged in criminal activity or
possesses a weapon without written court permission;
• Allow probation officers limited access to juvenile
criminal records, providing them with better insight
into the risks offenders pose;
The PBA and other stakeholders were invited by Governor Perdue to craft language and offer suggestions to improve Senate Bill 920 before it became law. The other stakeholders included representatives from the North Carolina Association of Police Chiefs, North Carolina Sheriff’s Association, NC Attorney General’s Office, NC Department of Corrections - Division of Prisons and Division of Adult Probation and Parole, and the NC Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. Together these groups worked together through numerous meetings to help make Senate Bill 920 a reality. The PBA is very grateful for Governor Perdue’s efforts in bringing everyone together to create the positive changes that were needed to enhance the capabilities of law enforcement and probation officers. “With these changes, law enforcement and probation officers will have immediate access to probation information and will be better prepared to protect themselves and their communities,” Perdue said. “These reforms will strengthen our probation system and make our communities safer.”