Governor Rick Scott has proclaimed July 16-22, 2017, as Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week. This week recognizes the Department’s Office of Community Corrections and the key role they play in the community by providing supervision and enforcement of court ordered services to offenders in Florida.
Secretary Julie Jones said, “Our probation officers play a significant role in Florida’s communities and all too often their contributions go unnoticed. Our Department is proud to join with the Governor and recognize these staff during Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week for their unwavering commitment to public safety and the rehabilitation of offenders. Thanks to these officers and staff, offenders are held accountable and connected with services to reduce victimization and the continued reduction of recidivism, which is at an all-time low.â€
Community Corrections is made up of approximately 3,000 officers and staff and supervises more than 167,000 offenders throughout Florida. Probation officers enforce standard conditions of supervision stipulated by statute as well as special conditions imposed by the court or sentencing authority, including victim restitution, substance abuse and mental health treatment programs.
Officers also provide offenders community services, employment assistance, counseling resources and additional support so they are better prepared to find employment and become productive, law-abiding citizens.
To learn more about the Department’s Office of Community Corrections, please visit www.dc.state.fl.us/orginfo/ccor.html.
Being a Pretrial Officer for Okaloosa County, I do appreciate you taking the time to recognize what we do as it is so often un-noticed. We have been struggling for a voice to understand the importance of what we do and have questioned time and again why Pretrial is not considered High Risk, but Probation is. We perform the same duties and more as we are required to go into Inmate housing and be placed at risk time and time again amongst the inmate population. We are routinely surrounded by 30+ offenders without any way to protect ourselves in various areas of the jail, so we can assist in minimizing unnecessary and expensive incarcerations in the county jail by expediting the judicial process and providing the court system with critical and timely information on those individuals incarcerated. It is our mission to provide defendants who meet established requirement the opportunity to participate in certain programs which are designed to assist them in being productive citizens while bringing about an effective disposition of their cases and promoting public safety. We supervise Offenders on House Arrest, Standard Pretrial Conditions, Mental Health Conditions, Alcohol and Substance Abuse programs, GPS monitoring systems, etc. We love our job and are dedicated to providing this service. I ask that our voice be heard so that Pretrial staff will get the ultimate recognition it deserves and be considered High Risk like Probation, Corrections, Law Enforcement and so many others that put our lives on the line to provide such an important public service.