Georgia parole review [Fall 2006]

FALL 2006
Garland R. Hunt, Esq. Chairman
L. Gale Buckner Vice-Chair
Garfield Hammonds, Jr. Member
Dr. Eugene P. Walker Member
Milton E. "Buddy" Nix, Jr. Member
The Parole Review published by the Office of Public Affairs
Director: Scheree Lipscomb
Public Info. Officer: Kim Patton-Johnson
Public Info. Specialist: Cathy Charles

Georgia Parole Review
State Board of Pardons and Paroles

Inside this issue:

Customer Service 2 TPCI Grant

Former Board

3

Members

Probation, Parole

and Community

Top 10 Awards

4

Parole Success

5

Incarcerated

Veterans

Parole Association 6

Don't Miss This Train To Extraordinary Customer Service

On August 21, 2006, the customer service improvement plan was officially rolled out during an All Hands Meeting at central office. All of the Board Members were in attendance, as well as Jim Lintz, the Governor's chief of operations, and Joe Doyle, director of the Governor's Office of Community Affairs and the commission chair for the Commission for

A New Georgia. The meeting was very lively, often times resembling a pep rally. Chairman Hunt, who had referred to our agency as the Pardons and Paroles team, asked staff from each division to stand and be applauded for their work. Mr. Nix drew hearty laughter
continued on page 2

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GEORGIA PAROLE REVIEW

Climb Aboard continued from page 1

and applause from the

Board Office of Victim

audience after sounding a

Services has collaborated with

conductor's whistle at just the the district attorney's victim

right

assistance

mo-

" The measure of your work programs

ment during

will be

you. Value yourself and

in Macon, Dalton

Jim put out an excellent product." and

Lintz's

- Garland R. Hunt, Parole Savannah

speech.

Board Chairman

to hold

"Victims

Beth Oxford, Director of

Visitor's Day." Victims

Parole, the Board Members,

attending "Victims Visitor's

and guests all spoke of the

Day" in those three cities, and

importance of excellent

inmate family members

customer service. Our efforts attending Visitor's Day in

in the customer service

Atlanta were asked to complete

improvement initiative will

exit interviews and surveys to

target our largest customer

measure their satisfaction. The

base, crime victims and their

results of the interviews and

families, and the families of

surveys will be used to identify

inmates. To that end, we have any areas that need

already begun to measure our improvement.

effectiveness in serving these

Feedback thus far has been

two groups.

overwhelmingly positive. Beth

A new Board endeavor to Oxford proclaimed during the

improve customer service by All Hands Meeting that we have

taking government out of

the best employees in the state.

Atlanta has been tremendously Chairman Hunt summed it up

successful. The Department of saying, " The measure of your

Corrections and the Parole

work will be you. Value

yourself and put out an

excellent product."

The initiative will continue to

move forward as we work to

achieve the Governor's vision

of having the "best managed

state in the nation."

Above: Customer Service Committee from left to right: James Rawls, Mary Ann Walls, Laurie Reid, Jan Moss, Rhonda Womack, Cathy Charles, Joe Doyle. Front: Terri Ricker, Jennifer Jenkins, Kitty Ulmer

Parole Board Awarded $245,000 in Grant Monies to Enhance Collaboration and Information Sharing
The Board is one of only nine states participating in the National Institute of Corrections' Transition from Prison to the Community Initiative (TPCI). At its core, TPCI strengthens collaborative relationships among government, community, and faith-based organizations to improve the likelihood offenders will return to their communities as productive, law-abiding citizens. The Georgia TPCI model requires information about offender risk and needs be shared among Corrections, Probation, Parole, and treatment staff in prisons and in the community. To Support this initiative, the Parole Board was awarded a $245, 000 grant.
The Parole Board will use the money to : (1) Create a formatted style sheet for criminal history summaries that better collates and formats criminal history information, including the offender's risk to re-offend. This enhancement will facilitate a quicker and more accurate review by Board Members in clemency considerations and by parole officers in supervision planning.
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FALL 2006

Page 3

Parole Board Grant continued
(2) Purchase, install and program hardware to make offender risks and needs assessment scores, and other case management information electronically available statewide to Corrections, Parole, Probation and community-based service providers. (3) Convert the Community and Faith-Based Housing Assistance Manual from a Wordperfect document to a web-based application, thus making the manual easier to manage, improve its sort capabilities and increase accessibility to hundreds of users. (4) Develop and validate a risk instrument for women offenders using data on women. In the past, the small numbers of women in most correctional systems required using data on men and women.

Former Board Members Honored

J.O Partain served on the Parole Board from February 1967 to February 1982. Mobley Howell served from November 1977 until January 1990. Both gentleman were invited to the September 2006 Board meeting where they were presented with resolutions declaring them Parole Board Members Emeritus from the current Board and commendations from the Governor.
Mr. Partain and Mr. Howell were greeted warmly by all, especially those staff members who worked for the Board during their terms. Some retired staff attended, the meeting

as well to visit with the former Board Members.
The resolutions were humbly and graciously accepted, as Mr. Partain and Mr. Howell shared memories, wisdom and humor from their days serving on the Parole Board.

Governor Perdue Stops by Parole Office to Express Appreciation During Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week
During the week of July 16, through 22, 2006, people across the United States and its territories joined together to recognize the work that parole, probation and community supervision professionals do to enhance public safety.
On July 17, 2006, Governor Sonny Perdue visited the Milledgeville Parole Office to celebrate with parole officers from the central region of the state. Governor Perdue honored all officers by presenting Chairman Hunt with a proclamation in appreciation for the services parole officers provide to the citizens of Georgia.

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GEORGIA PAROLE REVIEW

Award Recipients

Conyers, District #36

Dekalb, District #48

Lawrenceville, District #22

Jonesboro, District #20

Outstanding Performance, Measured and
Rewarded
" Performance Measures" is a management tool that helps agencies or organizations identify a desired goal or objective that is in line with their mission. Once the goal is clarified the agency must implement a process of collecting and evaluating data to determine if they are achieving their goal.
The Field Operations Division began utilizing this management strategy approximately two years ago. After identifying a single desired outcome, successful parole completions, Division Director Danny Hunter worked with the Research, Evaluation and Technology unit to develop a system that would organize data entered by parole officers into an electronic case management system . That system collects ongoing data and provides a rolling report that ranks successful parole completions from the state level, regional level, district level, down to parole officer level. On a real-time basis, managers and officers can access the report to determine how they rank in comparison to other field offices.
During the statewide chief's meeting in August, awards were presented to those districts whose parole successful completion rate was in the top 10 for the 2006 fiscal year.

North Fulton, District # 29 Athens, District #4 Monroe, District #26 Marietta, District #2 Clarksville, District #58 Jefferson, District #35 Americus, District # 51-1 Adairsville, District #44 Griffin, District #32
Operation Falcon III
Thirteen Parole Officers assisted the US Marshals in Operation Falcon III.
This nationwide effort, organized by the US Marshal Service, teamed federal, state and local law enforcement agencies from 25 eastern states together to execute a massive fugitive manhunt. An average of 3,000 law enforcement officers worked each day during the operation, which started on October 22, 2006 and ended October 28, 2006.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 10, 773 fugitives, clearing 13, 333 fugitive warrants Of those arrested, 1,014 were

Georgia fugitives; 92 were parolees.
"The Board conferred law enforcement powers to those parole officers who participated," stated Jay Hancock, Assistant Director of Field Operations. " The operation is a testament to the skills and determination of our officers and the rewards of working side by side with fellow officers in the law enforcement field." The following 13 parole officers also participated : Assistant Chief Darin Floyd, Sr. Parole Officer Brian Ely, Chief Dan Moore, Sr. Parole Officer Mark Bryngleson, Sr. Parole Officer John Rohrs, Sr. Parole Officer Brad West, Sr. Parole Office Trent Swicord, Assistant Chief Patrick Holsey, Sr., Parole Officer Phil Burrell, Sr. Parole Officer Kris Walker, Sr. Parole Officer Tom Lord, Sr. Parole Officer Charles Arnold, Sr. Parole Officer Tim Hamill.
Our Fugitive investigators, Marshall Smith, Josh Thompson, Barry Threlkeld, and Larry Morgan, gathered intelligence and organized data for dissemination in the operation.

FALL 2006

Page 5

What is the Measure of Success
The most successful parolees are those who we typically never hear about. There are no high profile arrests, no parole violations, and no news stories to call attention to the fact they are not getting into trouble.
For each edition of the Parole Review, we are flooded with success stories. It is a difficult task to select two or three that stand out. Most of these parolees, under the supervision of their parole officers, have obtained employment, a stable residence, and appropriate treatment referrals. Unnoticed, they simply transition back to a law-abiding life style. Often, because of their past experiences, the parolees have a great appreciation for a "regular" life, and they are eager to help others overcome difficult situations.
Stephen Morrison was paroled in June of 2004, after serving time for manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. Since being released, he has started a very successful construction company. He has assisted former cell mates with residence problems, and has visited local churches to give his testimony. He has also started a prison ministry to prove to inmates that hard work and strong faith can lead to success.
Charles Merritt was awarded the "Mr. Clean Award" by his local parole office. He was paroled in 2001 for Voluntary Manslaughter. Merritt has maintained the same employment and same residence since 2002. He has attended four to five support groups per week and had no violations at all, except one minor technical violation shortly after his release.
Are these stories deserving of recognition? Yes. We are proud of the accomplishments of the agency and the parolees. Every day that a parolee successfully completes parole, we are one step closer to realizing our vision : a parole system that leads to a safe and crimefree Georgia.

Vets Offered Transitional Assistance
Chief Parole Officer Christopher Abbe of the Augusta Parole Center has been asked to represent the Parole Board in a new program to educate incarcerated veterans, and provide information that will be beneficial upon their release from prison.
The concept was developed by the Georgia Department of Labor's TOPPSTEP program. George Champlin, the TOPPSTEP Southeast Region Coordinator, contacted Chief Abbe and requested his assistance. This initiative has partnered several agencies and organizations together: The Department of Labor, the Parole Board, the Department of Corrections, Disabled American Veterans, the U.S. Social Security Administration, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to name a few.
The objective is to assist these veterans in obtaining any benefits to which they may be entitled, as well as employment, housing, medical and substance abuse treatment. So far, the group of representatives has visited Reidsville State Prison, Augusta State Medical Prison and Hancock State Prison.
Over 200 veterans have been seen. "The veterans like the fact that they are being recognized for their service," stated Chief Abbe, a navel veteran himself. "This collaboration will lead to stability and an increase in successful parole outcomes."
Parole Family Updates
Pamela Pangle, Lafayette, married Jason R. Smith 5/27/06. Christopher Glover, Monroe, and wife, LaCheryl welcomed Lauren Christi Glover 10/14/06. Patricia Cox, Dalton, became a first time grandparent to William Carter Cox 08/26/06. Alan Shope, Central Office, became a first time grandparent to Annabelle Nancy Barrett 08/30/06 Caryl Deems, Southwest RD, became grandmother to Annalea Faith Deems 10/08/06. Gail Martin, Southeast Region, welcomed grandson Dane Wyles 11/01/06. Dyshelle Wiggins, Adairsville, graduated from Coosa Valley Technical College 09/14/06.

State Board of Pardons and Paroles
Fifth Floor, East Tower Floyd Veterans Memorial Building 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive S.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Phone: (404) 651-5651 Fax: (404) 463-6627
We are on the web www.pap.state.ga.us

Mission Statement
The mission of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles is to enhance public safety by making informed parole
decisions and transitioning offenders back in the community.
Vision A Parole System that leads to a safe and
crime-free Georgia.
Core Values We value Ethics, Integrity, Fairness and Honesty.
PAOG Logo Contest winners: Tami Stubbs and Mike Bobo

The Parole Association (PAOG) Executive Board would like to thank everyone for their support in making the 27th Annual Training Conference a successful and memorable conference.
The silent auction held at the conference raised $1,152.00. The Executive Board plans to make the auction an annual event.
Other fundraisers continue. To Purchase any of the following items, please contact your regional representative.
PAOG "Tried & True" cookbooks $10.00
parole badge lapel pins $5.00
stainless steel mugs $5.00
PAOG Parole Association of Georgia Jekyll Island 2006

Open Enrollment began on November 15, 2006 and will end on January 31, 2007.
Membership fees: Support Staff $10.00 Center Administrators, Chief Parole Officer, Assistant Chiefs and Parole Officers $20.00 Upper Management $30.00
Executive Board: President Susan Waters 1st V. Pres. April Moore 2nd V. P. Mike Bobo Treasurer Patty Butler Secretary Terri Ricker
Regional Representatives: Central Office Rep. Kitty Ulmer Central Region Rep. To be announced Metro Region Rep. Sherida Lovelace Southeast Region Rep. John Prince Southwest Region Rep. Perry Price Northeast Region Rep. Shannon Lavender Northwest Region Rep. Sheila Mullinax