Parole agency faces big cut

South Carolina's probation and parole department would have to shutter offices in 10 counties and reduce supervision of thousands of criminals if state lawmakers slice more money from the agency's budget, authorities said.

Lawmakers are talking about trimming $2 million from the agency, which already has absorbed some $8.5 million in budget cuts over the past two years. The agency, down 200 agents since 2007, could lose an additional 100 employees or more if lawmakers approve the cut, state officials said.

At the same time, lawmakers are discussing expanding the agency's workload by granting early release to as many as 3,000 prison inmates. The state's Sentencing Reform Commission also has recommended shifting more drug users and nonviolent criminals into probation to save on prison costs.

Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said the probation agency is getting squeezed from both sides and that the public's safety hangs in the balance.

"It's a really disturbing situation. It seems like there are two conflicting sides here and nobody is reviewing the proposals in totality to see what the real impact will be," Mullen said. "I don't want to see us jeopardize the safety of the community simply to save money."

Peter O'Boyle, spokesman for the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, said the proposed cuts would be a "devastating hit" that would have real and noticeable consequences.

The cuts would leave the agency without enough staff to man 10 county offices, O'Boyle said. Some offices in less populated areas like McCormick and Hampton counties are already getting by with just one agent on duty. Offices in Charleston, Greenville and Richland counties have lost a quarter to a third of their staff during the recession, he said.

The cut could also mean the closure of the Charleston area video-conferencing facility for parole hearings, which gives local victims an alternative to driving 100 miles to Columbia, O'Boyle said. Satellite monitoring of sex offenders also could be impacted. In general, fewer agents would make it more difficult to ensure criminals on community supervision are following the terms of their release, he said.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell said budget writers recognize the consequences of the cuts to probation and parole services. That's why the department is facing a 14 percent cut rather than the 25 percent decrease some other agencies are up against, he said. At the end of the day, however, cuts must be made, he said.

"I hope they don't have to do the things they are describing, but we have to balance the budget and we're not going to raise taxes to do it," Harrell, a Charleston Republican, said.

Rep. Paul Campbell, R-Goose Creek, said the Legislature is considering a number of no-cost or low-cost ideas to enhance public safety during the budget crisis, such as allowing law enforcement officials to search offenders on probation and parole without warrants.

Mullen said such moves are welcome but that they won't replace having agents on the ground. Even with its current allotment of 380 agents in the field, the probation and parole department doesn't have the staff to adequately monitor and work with offenders, he said.

The Post and Courier highlighted these difficulties in a 2008 series called "Law and Disorder," which revealed how criminals free on probation or parole kill, rob and rape when released into a system ill-equipped to maintain control. Some agents juggle more than 170 cases each and lack cell phones, cars and other resources to do their jobs.

Recent cases show the situation has only gotten worse. In January, a 21-year-old felon on intensive parole for burglary charges was accused of shooting a Charleston County sheriff's deputy after breaking into a home on James Island. The following month, a two-time convicted sex offender on intensive probation was charged with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman on James Island.

Police in Charleston and North Charleston have tried to help, detailing officers to assist probation agents in checking up on offenders. But there are limits to what they can do, North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt said.

Zumalt said his city is feeling the recession's pinch as well and that he can't request a bunch of new officers to fill the gaps the state would create by further gutting the probation agency. The early release of prisoners makes the situation even worse and puts citizens at grave risk, he said.

"It's just absolutely a bad idea," he said.