The Atlanta Journal Constitution recently published an investigation into Georgia’s probation system that exposed the massive size of Georgia’s probation population as well as the pitfalls of allowing for-profit private companies handle Georgia’s probation duties.
According to the AJC report, Georgia had over 500,000 people on probation in 2013, the highest in the nation. Proportionally, Georgia also has the most probationers of any other state by far: 6,829 out of every 100,000 adults are on probation in Georgia. The next closest state is Ohio with 2,802 per 100,000 adults. The sheer disparity in national numbers is enough to cause concern about the way Georgia is handling its probation system. However, the state’s for-profit misdemeanor probation system and exorbitant probation fees highlight a problem worse than high probation numbers.
Minor traffic offenses – for example, speeding or running a red light – often are resolved by people paying fines. However, when citizens can’t afford to pay their fines immediately, courts will often place them on probation as a means of giving people time to pay their fines. Usually, once the fines are paid, probation may terminate.
The problem is that eighty percent of Georgia’s misdemeanor probation is controlled and supervised by private, for-profit probation companies. These companies charge monthly fees for probationers on top of their court ordered fees, often compounding the total cost of a minor traffic infraction well beyond the original fine. For example, the AJC report profiles Vera Cheeks, who was placed on probation over a $135 stop sign violation. Over the course of three months, probation fees escalated Ms. Cheeks’s total expense to $267, nearly double the original amount of her fine.
We have written before about the inherent problems with a for-profit probation system that has a financial incentive to keep Georgians on probation and to keep Georgia’s probation numbers high. What initially seems like a charitable idea – giving people extra time (via probation) to pay fines associated with minor misdemeanor offenses – turns into a viscous cycle where Georgians are being gouged by high costs and threats of incarceration for failing to pay probation fees.
Probation reform in Georgia is a necessity and the recent attention the current system is receiving is encouraging. Hopefully judiciaries in counties across the state will consider alternative sentencing avenues for low-level misdemeanor Georgians that would bypass the costly probation system currently in place. If you or someone you know needs help with probation or a potential probation revocation, please contact Davis & Jones, Attorneys at Law.
Here’s the full AJC story (may require subscription to read full story):
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/crime-law/georgia-probation-system-ensnares-those-too-poor-t/njB6n/
UPDATE:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/supreme-court-rules-private-probation-companies-ca/njD4W/