The NC probation system is still seeing changes three years after Eve Carson's murder

Three years after former Student Body President Eve Carson’s murder exposed cracks in the N.C. probation system and prompted a total overhaul, practices are still changing.

Reforms to be implemented Dec. 1 and Jan. 1 will make it harder to revoke probation, will require that all felons are supervised upon prison release and will reroute offenders from prison to probation.

In 2009, the first round of legal and internal reforms were in response to the 2008 shootings of Carson and Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato. Prosecutors say Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., a man on probation whose case was admittedly mishandled, had a hand in both murders. Lovette comes to trial for Carson’s death next week.

Those reforms improved efficiency and technology, evened out caseloads and revamped oversight.

The second round of changes, which will be implemented in the upcoming weeks, arose partly from a need to cut costs and handle rising inmate populations.

The state expects a 3,000 prison bed shortfall by 2020, according to sentencing commission data. The measure aims to reduce that by emphasizing probation rather than incarceration.

Rep. David Guice, R-Henderson, said the state could save $293 million in costs like prison upkeep when it cuts inmate numbers by 5,000 by 2017.

The savings will be reinvested into probation and treatment, he said.

The measure also requires supervision for all released felons — instead of just some classes — to aid readjustment and keep them out of prison.

Tim Moose, director of the N.C. Department of Correction, said together the changes could add between 12,000 to 15,000 offenders to the 109,000-offender probation and parole system over several years.

Probation officers already see an average of 71 offenders — 11 more than national ideals — and officials say they mustn’t overtax the system.

Moose says the department expects enough funding to handle the influx, but he doesn’t know how much that will require.

“There are still some unknowns,” said Pamela Walker, spokeswoman for the department.

Officials say though the 2011 legislation will add offenders, changes implemented since the 2008 murders have made the system more efficient and equipped to handle the additions.

Jamie Markham, an assistant professor in the UNC School of Government who has studied the new legislation, said ongoing internal reforms in the department came partly from issues exposed in 2008.

Those problems were far-reaching. Lovette never met with his probation officer, Chalita Thomas, between his January 2008 sentencing and his March 2008 arrest. Further investigation showed Thomas hadn’t completed officer training.

Officials said the breakdown occurred because of communication errors and caseworker overload. At the time, files related to offenders and officers were filed in paper. Officers like Thomas monitored as many as 120 people and were trained and sent abruptly into the field.

Moose said that has all changed.

The organizational system has become computerized so that supervisors can better see that caseworkers are keeping up with their offenders and have completed training, he and Walker said.
Jennifer MacNeil, a field services specialist, said technology has also made caseloads more manageable.

She said new tools include a computer program that allows officers to track probationer’s locations, visit dates and offense alerts on one screen.

And while caseloads were sometimes grouped by risk level — one officer might see 20 high-risk offenders while another monitored more than 100 low-risk — officers now see similarly sized mixed caseloads statewide.

MacNeil also said new practices of assessing an offender based on risk factors like personality and history — not just criminal history — have helped officers to better understand who they are watching and assess their needs.

MacNeil said the fact that the state caseload average still exceeds the ideal isn’t felt in the field because of the changes.

“You might have a higher case number level but your workload is what counts,” she said.

To ensure caseload stability, the department has also cut vacancies from 10 percent in 2008 to 1 to 2 percent of the workforce in 2011.

Moose said the agency has hit lows of 20 vacancies at a time.

He said the agency has also revised how it prepares its officers.

Before, officers went through basic training, then were given a caseload and sent into the field.

Now, officers complete training and then spend two years gradually increasing caseload while receiving on-the-job training.

“In the past, you went to training, when you came back you had your caseload thrown at you and said, ‘good luck,’” Moose said.

He and Walker added that no communication between counties existed 2008, so for a probation officer to know that their charge had committed a crime elsewhere they would have to go to look up the documents.

The problem gained attention in 2008 because Demario James Atwater, who has been convicted of Carson’s murder, violated his probation prior to the March shooting but wasn’t jailed because of miscommunications between counties.

“People fell through the cracks,” Moose said.

Now, the information is available in the department’s computer system, which sends out automatic alerts when offenders commit a new crime in any county.

Walker said though probation has improved, it’s important to remember that the system is still imperfect. She said there is no way to know if reforms would have prevented the 2008 tragedies, if the murders did in fact happen at Lovette’s hands.

“I think one thing that’s important to note is that even with these changes there is no guarantee any of these changes would have had an impact on the Lovette case,” Walker said.

Fiscal motivations

While earlier reforms aimed to tighten the probation system, the new reforms have a fiscal aim.

“The overall philosophy is to decrease reliance on incarceration, because incarceration is really expensive,” Markham said. “Instead, the state is investing that money into stronger community programs.”

Guice, the legislation’s primary sponsor, said making it harder to revoke probation and keeping lower-level offenders out of prison makes sense.

“If you’ve got people in prison for technical violations, you’re tying up $28,000 (a year) for someone who’s taking up a bed that could be used by someone who committed homicide,” Guice said.

In 2009, 76 percent of revocations were for violating the terms of probation — not committing a new crime, based on Department of Correction statistics.

Moose said spending money to supervise felons post-release will provide them with the services they need to reintegrate, keeping them from more costly incarceration.

Department of Correction data states that in 2009, 19 percent of felons released and supervised were rearrested after a year and 35 percent after three years — compared to 21 percent and 45 percent for those not supervised.

But even with internal changes, budget cuts could undermine the 2011 reforms’ success by prompting the system to cut probation officers, overburdening others. Moose said the department will avoid those cuts at all costs.

He said this year, the agency budget stood at just more than $1.65 million, a 3.6 percent decrease from last year.

The department had to cut 72 positions to accommodate the decrease. In all, the agency cut about 25 percent of mid-management positions, plus secretarial and other positions.

“We took those reductions in those areas and did not touch field operations,” Moose said. But he and Walker agreed there is no further room for cuts.

“There is no fat,” Walker said.

Guice said it is too early to tell if the system will see more budget cuts next year.

“We’ll just have to see as we move forward. We’re working to eliminate overlaps and find ways to improve,” he said.

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