The Michigan Department of Corrections has had their hands full recently with an internal audit of about 70,000 parolees and probationers in the state. They want to crack down on non-compliant offenders, but are finding they don't have anywhere to place the violators. The state is notorious for the thousands of Detroit criminals who are let onto parole because of the lack of space in jails. These parolees then then disobey their regulations and end up in trouble. Many of the parole violations are due to a lack of supervision. According to a U.S. Politics news site, parolees who are given adequate supervision are much less of a danger than those who are not watched. Five parole agents were recently fired in Michigan for allowing their charges to act without supervision. As a result of not watching their charges, the parolees committed homicides.
Since the beginning of this year, Detroit jails have had to add about 1,000 beds. The centers are filled to bursting with men and women who weren't able to abide by their probation statutes. While the state agrees that these men and women shouldn't get away with disobeying parole, they also think that they might not be able to handle the costs of a probation crackdown. Already, the state has had to spend thousands transporting and caring for the men and women who violated their charges. Many of these charges aren't actually criminal. A probation criminal can be arrested if he or she fails to check in with their assigned agent, or fails to report a change of address when relocating. If a parolee does not show up for work one day because of illness or a conflict, he or she can be arrested for this as well. With 20,000 parolees in the Detroit metro, the state is worried that a crackdown will send unmanageable numbers to the jails. If you have been convicted of violating your parole, then you will need a criminal defense lawyer to fight in your stead. You want to take every measure to avoid being put in an over-crowded jail, so contact someone at our law office today for a consultation.
