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Vol. 1 No. 1 Winter 1998 
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How do responsible adults handle life situations? 
Lafayette Parole Officer Gladys Wood leads a Cognitive Skills Training group where parolees learn effective ways of not just coping but succeeding in their lives. It's a demanding program for both parolees and instructors. 
Story on page 2. 
 
New program targets hard-to-reach offenders 
 
moves to front of the class 
 
Message from the chairman Board's Field Supervision Parole Briefs News about employees Parole director gives facts 
 
 New program targets hard-to-reach offenders 
 
L ast spring under Parole Board order one hundred fifty - mostly unwilling - parolees began a rigorous course designed to help .... ..... them change their ways of perceiving and dealing with the world. 
 
Four months later two thirds of them, many accompanied by their families, 
 
accepted their diplomas from parole officials in graduation exercises held around the state. Most of the men were smiling, some were teary-eyed, and a few looked stunned. "Aside from prison," one man said, "this is the first 
 
.......,.,_., ..,.................. 
~~Aside from prison," one man said, "this 
 
thing I've ever completed." The Cognitive Skills Training program, developed in 
Canada 15 years ago, focuses on repairing some of the 
faulty thinking patterns that lead to criminal behavior. 
 
is the first thing I've Through structured, interactive learning exercises such as 
 
ever completed." 
 
role play and group discussions, some of the least-likely-tosucceed parolees devote two evenings per week for 17 
 
weeks to improve skills in problem-solving, critical reason- 
 
ing, impulse control, and social skills, to name a few of the modules that 
 
directly target those areas where offenders show deficits. 
 
Parole Board staff, mostly parole officers, receive federally funded 
 
training to become certified Cognitive Skills coaches and then devote several hours each week to preparing lessons for their groups. 
 
"The program is special because it's designed for those who need it 
 
most," says Dee Bell, who heads the unit that administers the program. 
 
Bell says many programs, public and private, target lower-level offenders 
 
or those with additional support systems in place to ensure a higher 
 
success rate. 
 
"But we need to work intensely with the higher-risk offenders," she 
 
says. "We have a window of opportunity during parole to build some struc- 
 
~~~'~".-.. . 
 
....., ...., .........,. ture and get them started on a new path before their sen- 
 
"The guys jumped tence expires. Cognitive Skills is the most powerful inter- 
 
up and down with vention program we've found for that category of offender." 
 
Selection practices ensure population consistency so the 
 
joy when they heard program can be evaluated. By a centralized computer 
 
they were chosen 
 
process, sex offenders and those with low aptitude are elim- 
 
for the group- the COntrol group ... " 
 
inated, as are those with high "grid" scores (agency predictors of parole success). To the pool of eligible candidates, 
district parole chiefs, Cognitive Skills coaches, and other 
 
parole officers may add names of parolees under supervi- 
 
sion whose attitudes or behavior need improvement. Computers at Atlanta 
 
headquarters randomly divide the candidate pool into two groups: partici- 
 
pants and control. 
 
"The guys jumped up and down with joy when they heard they were chosen for the group- the control group, that is," says Gladys Wood, Lafayette-area coach. 
 
 Program Basics:  70 Hours of training 
commonly arranged in twice-weekly 2-hour sessions for 17 weeks. 
Average class size 7-12 
 
"I dreaded the first class and spent hours preparing for it," Wood recalls. "Then it was so well received I thought I'd overreacted. So I went into the second class with some confidence, which was immediately shattered. These men glared at me 
with their arms crossed, not saying a word. I thought, Uh oh, this is going to be a long summer." 
Other coaches report the same pattern. John Prevost, who along with coaches David Carter and Eric Frasier taught a DeKalb group, said the parolees were suspicious. 
"They feared it was some new scheme to trick them back into prison. Then they decided it was a form of brainwashing. They simply could not accept that it was a genuine attempt to help them learn ways to be successful in the world." 
"You realize in teaching the class how different thinking patterns emerge," Gladys Wood says. "It amazed me, for example, that no one in the class had ever played games before. It was a complete novelty to them that learning could be non-threatening." 
While coaches monitor progress in class discussions, they anxiously wait for the first reports of behavior change. Only then do they . . .... know parolees are accepting and internalizing the concepts. ;;One parolee in our group was really upset by a work supervisor who watched him like a hawk, waiting for the parolee to mess up," Prevost reports. "After studying social and negotiation skills this parolee went to the supervisor and told him his concerns. They talked and, amazingly, resolved the matter without argument. Anyone who has worked with offenders knows the usual outcome of this situation: the parolee blows up and walks off the job. Adult, assertive behavior is almost unheard of." Criminal justice experts say that learning to hear and appreciate another person's viewpoint is a major step toward a life away from crime. Program practitioners are seeing that the structured, progressive introduction of simple skills that offenders never learned through role models and environment can alter destructive, egocentric behavior. In fact, many parolees who have completed the program report that the ability to "see the big picture" rather than just their immediate concerns has provided them with the quickest and most dramatic reinforcement of their new way of dealing with the world. Canadian research shows that the program reduced recidivism by 40 percent. Colorado, impressed by results of their state's pilot project for substance abuse offenders, expanded the program to adult residential facilities, boot camp programs, and intensive juvenile probation. Georgia Parole researchers are tracking graduates of the program until three years after parole discharge. The program looks promising, consistent with success curves shown by other longer-running programs, but agency officials say the bottom line will be statistical, not anecdotal, proof that- in Georgia- it prevents offenders from returning to prison. ::' 
 
 Cognitive Skills Training 
 
Problems in conducting program: time and transportation 
Most sessions are conducted during evening hours. Parolees, particularly those in rural areas, may live miles from a parole office. Typically parolees have unreliable transportation and may not be licensed to drive. One Lafayette employer was so impressed by his employee's improvement, he drove the parolee to and from the twice-weekly sessions- a 40-mile round trip. 
Why no women? 
The parole population is overwhelmingly male. Classes cannot be mixed. The agency plans to start a group for women in 1998. 
What happens to those who don't complete? 
Dropping out of the program is a parole violation which often results in revocation. 
 
Parolee moves to the front of the class 
 
ressed in a dark blue three-piece suit and standing tall at the podium of a 
 
packed auditorium, the young man personified the goals of the program he 
 
praised. A high school drop-out, a felon, a man who says he lived in the 
 
background of his own life, calmly addressed an audience of government 
 
officials and private citizens at the Board's public meeting. Chris Lazenby spoke 
 
about Parole's Cognitive Skills training where he was unlocking the code of behav- 
 
ior and attitude that other "regular people" seemed to live by so effortlessly. It's a 
 
tough program, he said, and it's for the toughest audience- parolees who don't 
 
want to hear it. He struggled for the right words to convey the impact of the train- 
 
ing on his life. Finally he blurted out: "I just love Cognitive Skills! Thank you for 
 
having this program!" The audience broke into applause as Chris floated back 
 
to his seat. 
 
A month later Chris shuffled into the visiting room on the arm of a deputy. The 
 
dress-for-success attire had been replaced by a orange jump suit, standard issue of 
 
the McDuffie County jail. 
 
Yet he greeted his Cognitive Skills Instructor Kathy Ruddy and his Parole 
 
Officer Darin Floyd with an eager grin, as if anticipating congratulations. And 
 
indeed Ruddy and Floyd spied a little gem of victory under the surface of this 
 
predicament. The success of any rethinking program for offenders 
 
11ln the Cog class I got a taste of what it 
 
must be measured in the context of their difficult and complicated lives, they said, and Chris's story is an example. 
"Chris just blossomed in the Cog Skills classes," says Kathy 
 
was like at the front of the room," Chris says, "and I liked it." 
 
Ruddy. "It was obvious he had insight into people. His role plays were creative and he was so involved in learning." 
"I always stayed in the shadows, in the back of the class when I was in school," Chris says. Shy by nature, he was forced to 
 
stand out by a birth defect which left him with half-size, mal- 
 
formed arms. As he watched from the sidelines, continually assessing people and 
 
situations to find his place, Chris developed insight but learned avoidance. 
 
"In the Cog class I got a taste of what it was like at the front of the room," Chris 
 
says, "and I liked it." 
 
 However, like most parolees selected for the training, Chris at first felt burdened 
 
and angry about having to attend the twice-weekly sessions that lasted 17 weeks. 
 
It's inconvenient, unfair, a waste of time, they say. Some, if pres- 
 
11AII of a sudden I realized I could 
 
sured, reveal what lies below their anger: cold fear of being shamed and shunned as they were in school. But Chris continued - reluctantly - because he had to. 
 
use my mind! 
 
And then one night during a "Cog Quickie" he had an epiphany and everything changed. 
 
Ruddy explains: "Cog Quickies are exercises in reasoning skills. 
 
They're like brain teasers, but the one Chris is talking about is a mathematical ques- 
 
tion and he was quick with the right answer." 
 
Chris jumps in, "All of a sudden I realized I could use my mind! All my life I 
 
had wanted to be a carpenter. My uncles and others I was around were all carpen- 
 
ters, and that was just what I thought I should have been 
 
able to do." His face bright with the recaptured moment, 
 
Chris looks expectantly toward his listeners who, speech- 
 
less, drop their eyes. 
 
One day, close to end of the Cognitive Skills program, 
 
probation officials discovered Chris had failed to pay a year- 
 
old fine. Under threat of being jailed immediately, he decid- 
 
ed to test his newly acquired problem-solving and negotia- 
 
tion skills. 
 
"When I went before the judge I didn't butt in or start 
 
getting people mad at me like I used to do," Chris says. 
 
"When it was my turn to speak I admitted I had done wrong 
 
and expected to serve the time." 
 
Chris explained to the judge why the Cognitive Skills 
 
graduation was so important to him and asked if he could 
 
turn himself in after the ceremony. 
 
"He said all right," Chris says. "I felt like an adult when 
 
he paid attention to what I was saying. And I turned myself 
 
in just like I said. That's what we learned - to make a rea- 
 
sonable request and then to be responsible. 
 
"So I'm going to get this behind me - it's just 30 days - 
 
and then get my GED," he says in a rush. "Then I'm going 
 
to a vocational school and do something with my life." 
 
Driving back to the parole office, Floyd says that Chris 
 
won the "Buddy Award," given by the Thomson parole 
 
staff to the parolee who -by personality or circumstance 
 
or other combination- gets the entire parole staff involved 
 
in his progress. 
 
"Chris needs parole for the structure and the encou- 
 
ragement," Floyd says. "And when he gets off parole, he'll need support from the 
 
community." 
 
Ruddy nods in agreement. "He'll get it, I believe. Chris has that way. 
 
And now he imagines the possibility of a different life." She looks out the car 
 
window as a long stretch of pines whip past. "A carpenter...What a moment that must have been for him." '~l  
 
 Message from Chairman Walter Ray 
 
;.;::::::::!!':::::.::::::;. 
i~~:::r= rime l~ always a hot topic. Reading the morning paper or listening to the evening 
 
~It. news, we are assaulted by reports of innocent people being victimized. I react the .,,,~,~~::~:~::J:Y..~Y.);}itost people do: I am heartsick and outraged and worried about our future. 
Years ago I would have had a clear-cut answer: Build more prisons and keep offend- 
 
ers in prison for a long time. We are doing that, yet we still have problems. Having 
 
served on the Parole Board for two years and prior to that in the State Senate for 
 
twelve years, I can no longer pretend that a slogan is a solution. 
 
Georgia citizens are more knowledgeable and practical about criminal justice 
 
issues now, too. More and more the public understands the correlation between tax- 
 
payer contributions and the number of arrests their local police make, the number 
 
of cases their district attorney prosecutes, and the number of inmates who remain in 
 
our-prisons. 
 
We can thank the victims movement for helping to raise the public's interest 
 
and involvement fn criminal justice processes. An informed citizenry understands 
 
..... ~., ....... .............. , . m 
''Georgia has one 
 
the interdependent nature of criminal justice agencies and cannot be beguiled into thinking any component can be changed without 
 
Of the best parole structures in the 
nation. It is flexible 
 
impact on all others. Georgia has one of the best parole structures in the nation. It 
is flexible and responds to the values of the public it serves. As you will see elsewhere in this newsletter, we make conservative 
 
and responds to the 
 
decisions, we actively promote victim and citizen input, and we continually strive to provide maximum supervision and training 
 
values of the public it serves." 
 
for offenders under supervision. Yet the Board must be structurally sound and impenetrable to 
political pressure to perform some unpopular but essential tasks 
 
in the criminal justice process. The Board, along with the Department of 
 
Corrections, for example, helps to maintain prison population levels in an equitable, 
 
systematic way that can stand up to any court challenge. And as a centralized 
 
agency through which all inmate cases travel, it determines which cases -by 
 
research, not by family or political pressure - can best be handled with a period of 
 
community supervision. 
 
Lastly, as a criminal justice agency that has served Georgia for more than 50 
 
years, we have gathered an enormous archive of information about the backgrounds 
 
of offenders. We see the end results of problems that arise in childhood and adoles- 
 
cence. All of us, whether private citizens or criminal justice practitioners, must 
 
become more zealous about prevention and early intervention with at-risk youth. 
 
Otherwise, we will condemn future generations not only to a more dangerous soci- 
 
ety, but also to one demanding immense and possibly insurmountable financial out- 
 
lays to support the prosecution and confinement of criminals. ? 
 
 :f::::::::::::::::~r 
 
Al~ I:.PORT O,'P 
 
L E 
 
Board's Field Supervision Division one of nation's best 
 
..:::- e~tgia's Parole Board gets high marks from an association that measures perfor- 
 
.r m.Wlce of the nation's corrections, probation, and parole agencies. In August the 
<t... C.:::.~nnmission on Accreditation for Corrections (CAC), which is the only accrediting a~thority for adult parole agencies, again endorsed the Board division that handles 
 
supervision of Georgia's 20,000 parolees. The Field Services Division is one of only 
 
four parole supervision units in the country with CAC accreditation. 
 
The Commission's requirements for accreditation are stiff: agencies must com- 
 
ply with nearly two hundred standards including those on victim notification, com- 
 
munity involvement, and offender case management. Reaccreditation occurs every 
 
......-.s.................."......~w.-~..v.. three years after on-site auditors verify continuous compliance 
 
The Field Services 
 
with those standards. Georgia's Field Services Division was initial- 
 
Division is one of 
 
ly accredited in 1994, on its first bid. On this reaccreditation review examiners rated Georgia's compliance at 98 percent, which 
 
only four parole 
 
they said was "a seldom attained rating." 
 
supervision units in the country with 
 
Board Chairman Walter Ray says working toward accreditation helps the agency stay focused on its goals to promote public safety and accountability. "We have voluntarily placed ourselves 
 
CAC accreditation. 
 
in the position of being rated on the highest professional standards and of being thoroughly critiqued by criminal justice 
 
experts. We are extremely proud that our agency is one of few in the nation willing 
 
and able to make this commitment to accreditation. It says to our citizens that 
 
Georgia parole, when measured by very tough, national standards, is a leader." 
 
Parole goes "on the road" 
The Parole Board held its July monthly meeting before a public audience July 15 at Hartwell's Bobby Joe Whitworth Detention Center. The official meetings, which in the past had always been held at the agency's Atlanta headquarters, now are taken "on the road " every other month. Chairman Walter Ray says that is because the Board wants to be more accessible to the public. 
Approximately 125 people attended the Hartwell meeting, including Hartwell Mayor Joan Saliba, Northern Judicial Circuit Chief Judge George Bryant and State Senator Eddie Madden. District Attorney Robert Lavender, State Representatives Alan Powell and Ralph Twiggs, and many area sheriffs were scattered among the crowd. At the close of the business meeting when citizens were invited to comment, Co-Director of the Northeast Georgia Rape Crisis Center Nanci Newton thanked the Board for providing offenders with life skills and substance abuse treatment, and for being "particularly sensitive to victims' needs.": 
 
 Parole Briefs 
 
Agency creates Victim and Community Council 
To provide better services to crime victims and to communities, the Parole Board has formed a Victim and Community Advisory Council composed of victim advocates, criminal justice practitioners, and other concerned citizens from around the State. The members, all volunteers, will keep the Board informed of victim issues and concerns from their respective geographic areas or areas of concern, and will aid the Board in constructing its Restorative Justice model. Restorative Justice includes a network of specific programs designed to achieve more accountability from the offender and more participation from the citizens to lessen the lingering effects of crime on the community. The Council held its first meeting in November. 
Board elects officers 
During the October public meeting, Board members re-elected Walter Ray as chairman and Jim Wetherington as vice-chairman for the calendar year beginning January 1, 1998. 
Specialist provides gang updates 
The Board's Drug Violence Prevention Education Unit, part of the Community Based Services Division, distributes a quarterly bulletin on gang security tips to police and sheriffs departments across the state. Parole Crime Prevention Education Specialist Jack Holliday monitors threat group activities in Georgia and provides updates and technical assistance on gangs for the National Major Gang Task Force. He then compiles informa- 
 
tion from their reports for dissemination to Georgia law enforcement personnel. 
Parole works side-by-side with police 
In an ongoing project to improve communication with police agencies, the Parole Board has assigned 16 parole officers to work out of their local area police precincts on a full or part-time basis. Three more assignments are in the works, parole officials say, with more planned for 1998. 
NIC assists in job readiness program 
The Board's Office of Parolee Training and Employment recently received technical assistance from National Institute of Corrections consultants to further develop the Georgia program leading to faster and better employment for the recently released parolee. Hartzel Black and Jim Williams, who worked on a successful, similar Illinois program, met with staff from Parole, Department of Corrections, and Department of Labor to discuss the parolee job placement sequence, including preparation of job portfolios while offenders are still in prison. Black and Williams returned in October to assist with developing community resources. 
Valdosta staff helps to fund Child Advocacy Center 
On September 12 at the grand opening ceremony of the Lowndes County Child Advocacy Center, the Valdosta Parole Office was recognized for raising $14,000 in money or supplies to help fund the community pro- 
 
 ject. Parole staff spent weekends at the Valdosta Mall and other target areas collecting money and soliciting donations of paint and building materials from local companies, including from one Adel firm, all plumbing equipment. Valdosta Chief Parole Office Barbara Corbett is on the Board of Directors for the new center. 
Diversity consultants conclude study 
Consultants Dr. Marshall Kaufmann, Dr. Frances Baldwin, and Ms. Elizabeth Kinne have completed the year-long study of the Board's plans and procedures to ensure work- 
 
place diversity and equity. The consultants interviewed Board members and top-level management, conducted ten focus groups that brought together 120 randomly selected employees, and met with the agency strategic planning team targeting diversity issues. Consultants reported that the candid discussion groups revealed unified dedication to the agency's mission and vision. The Board is studying the consultants' comments but has already implemented several suggestions, including top-management visits to field locations, public Board meetings held across the state, and increased professional training for all levels of employees. 
 
about the Board 
 
 Across the Board -News About Employees 
New Division Director will oversee community projects 
Diane Bell is the new director of Community-Based Services, which encompasses programs such as Cognitive Skills as well as services such as coordinating substance abuse treatment and electronic monitoring. The position was formerly held by Renee Phillips who retired in August. Diane began her state service nearly 20 years ago at the Georgia Police Academy, where Parole Board training was held prior to construction of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center at Forsyth. Her career then took her to the Office of Planning and Budget working on assignments with the Department of Public Safety, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Corrections, and Parole, among others. She most recently worked with the Department of Human Resources as a planner and budget administrator for several of their major divisions, including Family and Children's Services and Rehabilitation Services. Diane has a bachelors degree in English and sociology from Boston College, a masters in criminal justice from Northeastern University, and a masters of business administration in finance from Georgia State University. 
Diane's office is on the fourth floor, East Tower, behind the reception area. Drop by to introduce yourself to our new master planner. 
Caryl Deems chosen to supervise new parole area 
Ten years ago Caryl Deems exchanged badges: the Macon police officer began a Macon parole officer. Now she's the area supervisor of the newly created Central 
Area which includes the district offices of Milledgeville, Eatonton, Baldwin, Dublin, Warner Robbins, Monroe, Lyons, and the Macon Parole Center. Along the way she's managed the Montezuma parole office, served as chief of the Warner Robbins office, and instructed hundreds of parole employees in basic and in-service training. Caryl graduated from Mercer University with a BA in sociology, and from Georgia College with a MBA. 
August ceremony honors professional secretaries 
Parole Board employees provided nearly a fourth of the graduates of the Professional Secretaries Program, an intensive training program operated by the State Merit System. Graduation ceremonies in the State Capitol House Chambers honored four classes from 1996 and 1997. The 112-hour program covers technical and interpersonal skills and requires both classroom and home study. 
 
 Congratulations to: 
Suzanne W. Baxter, #1, Rome Carolyn J. Brown, CO, Atlanta, Public Information Loretta E. Brown, #48, DeKalb Specialized Unit Patricia W. Cox, #43, Cuthbert Michelle Crimpton, CO, Atlanta, Interstate Kathryn Dennis, CO, Atlanta, Interstate Vicky Dixon, #15-2, Moultrie Toni Fernander, CO, Atlanta, Dispositions Darlene Johnson, CO, Atlanta, Administration Sandra Kitchens, #9, Thomson Truly Linder, CO, Atlanta, Field Services Gail Martin, #18, Fitzgerald Lisa Michelle Morton, #11, Savannah Stacy Rogers, #6, Newnan Teresa Shirley, Lee Arrendale Parole Kathy Stogner, CO, Atlanta, Personnel Sherry Tillman, CO, Atlanta, Interstate Sharon Warren, #15, Thomasville Mary Young, CO, Atlanta, Records 
Parole officers complete basic training 
On August 15 thirty-three Board employees completed POST-certified basic parole officer training at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, and now begin official duties around the state. Bill Worthington of the South Richmond office won the firearms-performance award as well as the overall award for performancebased subjects. Chuck Chancey of the Waycross office won the academic award and the Steve Bowers award, which recognizes the best overall average of academic and performance-based subjects. 
Awards given to outstanding employees and volunteers 
An awards banquet culminated two days of training during the Parole Association of Georgia (PAOG) and Board annual training conference held in 
August at St Simons Island. The award for outstanding field service (Billy Murphy Award) went to Senior Parole Officer Brian Owens of the South Fulton Office. Outstanding service awards to central office employees (Tommy Morris Distinguished Service Awards) went to Records Unit Data Transcription Supervisor Mary Young, and to Jack Holliday, a specialist with the Drug and Violence Prevention unit of the Board. Field Services Officer Bob Eady won the Innovation Award, followed by runners-up South Metro Center Administrator Dave Goff and Lawrenceville Senior Parole Officer Mike Vance. 
Mary Young receives an award for outstanding service from (1. tor.) Parole Director Charles Topetzes, former Board Member and award namesake Tommy Morris, and Board Vice-chair Jim Wetherington. 
 
 By area, these outstanding employees received Employee of the Year awards: 
Lori Freeman, NW, Parole Officer II, Thomaston Parole Office Bob Allison, CO, Accreditation Manager, Atlanta Nikki White, Metro, Secretary II, South Metro Parole Center Bettye Padgett, SE, Specialized Parole Officer, Lyons Parole Office Sandra McGlamery, SW, Parole Investigator, Valdosta Parole Office Crystal Teasley, NE, Senior Parole Officer, Hartwell Parole Office 
Also, the Parole Association of Georgia presented its President's Award for outstanding service to Jean Gladding, a longtime officer of the organization. 
In other categories, the Rachel Jones Volunteer Award was given to KAIROS, a prison ministry group. And a special Board proclamation was presented to Elaine and Gordon Rondeau for their volunteer work in victims and criminal justice issues. 
Columbus Parole supports drug fighters 
Members of "Columbus Against Drugs" attended the annual reunion of National Drug Fighters reunion held in St. Petersburg, Florida this summer. National Drug Fighters is a grass-roots campaign led by citizens determined to rid their neighborhoods of drugs and drug-related crimes. Ten such groups now operate in Columbus. Others attending the reunion with the "CAD" group were members of the Columbus Police Department and the Muscogee County Sheriff's office and, representing the Parole Board, Columbus Senior Parole Officer Wayne Day. 
Warner Robbins Officers are first on scene 
On August 7 while conducting field supervision, Warner Robbins Parole Officers Melanie Eblen, Chris Busby, and James Bergman heard a police radio call about a stabbing that had just occurred. Realizing they were only six houses from the reported address, the officers rushed to the incident location to get the assailant's description. While Officer Bergman assisted the victim, Eblen and Busby located the suspect at a nearby house and held her under arrest until police arrived to close the quickly solved case and to thank the responsive parole team. 
Team work thwarts carjackers 
Warner Robbins now has three fewer carjackers thanks to combined law enforcement work. On September 4 District 13 Parole Officers Tom Lord and Chris Busby helped state and local authorities maintain a road block and search a rural area for the suspects, who were captured. 
 
 Combined offices increase services 
On May 1, Districts #36 S. Dekalb, 36-1 Conyers, #48 N. Dekalb and #21 Decatur combined to form the DeKalb Parole Center, whose goal is to provide specialized supervision and programs to parolees in DeKalb and Rockdale Counties. The DPC continues to offer Cognitive Skills training, parole orientation, and an employment readiness program. In October two new programs began: on-site GED classes and, under supervision of Michele Colson, a training and support group for women parolees. District #48 North Dekalb, renamed DeKalb Specialized Unit, now supervises parolees under electronic monitoring or those classified as mental health or sex offenders. 
Good parole work on tough cases 
Parole Officer Tammie Boone received a Hawthorne award for her work with sex offenders during a time of intense negative media attention, as did Jenna James, whose testimony at a final hearing attended by the parole officer basic training class was highly praised. Jeff Coker worked with DeKalb detectives to eliminate a parolee as a suspect in a series of armed robberies and Ray Collins assisted detectives in the investigation which led to the apprehension of a suspect in two DeKalb murders. The suspect had initially been mistakenly identified as a parolee. And Parole Officer Derael Armstrong gets special commendation from Dekalb police for his "professionalism and willingness to help on the spur of the moment." On October 3 police contacted Derael to help them search a parolee's residence. Even though the call came to his home after midnight, Derael was on the scene 10 minutes later. Police said they felt comfortable making the request because of their previous work with Parole Liaison Officer Ray Collins. 
Parole volunteers aid Augusta project 
Augusta's Weed and Seed Project Augusta is off and running. On July 24 the first multi-agency law enforcement sweep in the Barton Village target area produced 23 arrests on drug, weapons, disorderly conduct, and DUI charges. Five arrests were made on outstanding warrants and 68 people were run on the computer during eight hours of road blocks, drug buys, and home searches. Twelve federal state and local agencies, including Parole, were part of the successful team. Volunteers from District 50 South Richmond were Parole Officers AI Goode and Terence Haythe and from District 24 Augusta Chief Jack Glazner, Assistant Chief Carl DeLoach, and Parole Officers Terrell Yelverton, Scott Terry, Brian Ely, and Julie Webb. 
Officers help parolees build skills 
On August 5 District #24 Augusta began a program in their office to provide parolees with improved skills in handling their day-to-day experiences. Assistant Chief Parole Officer Carl DeLoach developed the "Life Skills" program and helped to get it started. Senior Parole Officers Brian Redd, Derek Singleton, and Julie Webb teach the course designed to equip parolees with effective coping techniques. 
 
 REPD~ :~-A ~::6tE 7 
 
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To improve accessibility for area parolees, classes will eventually be moved from the parole office to various community facilities such as local recreation centers in the Augusta area. Augusta and South Richmond offices are working togther on the project to provide more services to Augusta-area parolees. 
 
Cognitive Skills groups graduate and celebrate 
On August 7 Lafayette Parole Officer and Cognitive Skills Trainer Gladys Wood coordinated the graduation program for parolees who had completed the difficult and lengthy course. Spouses and friends of the parolees, their supervising parole officers, District Chief Lee Robinson, and a local newspaper reporter, attended the ceremony and supper which followed. Graduates accepted their diplomas and discussed benefits of the program. Local vendors provided flowers and some of the food items for the hamburger meal which was prepared by Senior Secretary Sherry Hughes and Parole Investigator Lisa Tincher. The Walker County Messenger carried a feature article on the program and graduation. 
The Griffin Cognitive Skills program taught by Donna High and Paul Richardson was featured in the Griffin Daily News in July and in August Jonesboro's Cognitive Skills group led by Senior Parole Officer Cheri Anderson received front-page attention from the local Jonesboro newspaper. Both articles recognized the commitment of parolees and their teachers. 
Cognitive Skills got press attention in Statesboro, also, where Parole Officer Cyndi Williams taught her first class and handed out diplomas to seven out of the original eight class members. At graduation ceremonies, parolees received awards for best role players, perfect attendance, and best program support. Afterward, graduates, friends and families enjoyed a low-country boil sponsored by the parole staff. 
 
Employee Spotlights 
 
Sherrel Stephens is a Clerk II in Compact Services, deep in the heart of Twin Towers, where she has worked since 1995. She can be considered a parolee travel agent, as she is responsible for processing all Georgia parolee travel permits and requests for out-of-state transfer. Office Manager Sharon Goolsby says she has many other responsibilities too, and does a great job on a all of them, including her work on the Computer Technical Support Team. 
 
Whenever a parole officer calls the Violations Unit to request a teletype hold or removal or to place a fugitive on GCIC/NCIC, it's Administrative Clerk Truly Linder who handles the mission. Since January 1996 Truly has been the Board's Terminal Agency Coordinator who is responsible for training and certifying all GCIC operators and maintaining our agreement with GCIC network. Truly received her POST-instructor certification this spring and taught in the last basic training course. She also assists Field Services Office Manager Katie Herber in supervising the Violations Unit support staff, for which she received a Hawthorne award in April. With all her work Truly managed to find time to complete the intensive Professional Secretaries Development Program, graduating this summer. 
 
 Parole Director gives facts on parole 
The October 20, 1997 issue of Bill Shipp's Georgia, a weekly newsletter on government and business, contains a front-page article by Parole Director Charles Topetzes entitled: "A phony issue? Why scrapping paroles won't work." Among information he provides is data about actual time served by Georgia felons. For example: 
:rt Georgia's incarceration rate is eighth highest in the nation, Topetzes 
points out. In 1996 the average U.S. rate per 100,000 was 352; for Georgia, 509. And, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, Georgia prison inmates serve: 
 68% longer than the national average for murder  61% longer for rape  70% longer for robbery  13% longer for assault 
~[:l Other statistics reflect changes in Board activity from 1991 to 1997. During that six-year span: 
 The Parole Board reduced total releases by almost 40% (16,772 in '91; 10,097 in '97); 
 The number of lifers in prison increased by 66.1% (3,049 in '91; 5,066 in '97) but the number of lifers paroled dropped by 86.4% (206 in '91; 28 in '97); 
 The number of inmates the Board required to serve 100% of their sentences) increased by 84% (2,397 in '91; 4,092 in '97); and 
 The number of sex offenders released by the Board plummeted by 85.3% (544 in '91; 90 in '97). 
Director Topezes points out that, typically, 12% of the parole population return to prison each year. Of those, less than 10% are sent back for committing a new crime; most return for failing to abide by the technical terms of their conditional release. 
"We can't face or solve criminal justice issues of the 21st century without all the facts," Topetzes sums up. "I hope our citizens and legislators ask hard questions of anyone proposing simple solutions to complex issues. We have come too far to repeat the costly experiments of other states or mistakes we have made in the past." 
 
 Board increases prison time for all violent offenders 
A t press time the Board had just announced its policy to require all violent offenders as well as residential burglars to serve a minimum of 90 percent of . . .. their court-imposed terms of incarceration. The policy will affect offenders convicted on or after January 1, 1998 for twenty crimes not covered under "Two Strikes" legislation. That legislation, passed in 1994, already requires offenders convicted of murder, rape, aggravated sodomy, armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated child molestation, and aggravated sexual battery to serve 100 percent of their prison sentence. 
Board Chairman Walter Ray announced the policy change on December 9 during the Board's monthly meeting. He said the action was a "natural evolution in line with the two-strikes law" and that it would help to "restore public confidence in the criminal justice system." 
"On many individual cases, the Board already denies parole entirely or requires 90 percent prison service time," Ray said. "This new policy clarifies and simplifies time-served guidelines so the state's judges and district attorneys will know how to gauge appropriate sentencing." 
Since 1991 the Board has steadily and consistently amended and refined its guidelines and policies to provide for lengthier prison service for violent criminals. Board officials say this new policy will make Georgia the toughest state in the nation on violent criminals, but they emphasize that funding will be required to carry out the plan. They estimate that 24,000 new prison beds will be needed over the next ten years. 
Chairman Ray said that offenders released under the new 90 percent policy will serve the remaining 10 percent of their prison sentence under parole supervision so they can be reintegrated into the community with structure and surveillance. During this supervised period offenders will be placed in appropriate community programs, be monitored for child support, restitution, and victim fee payments, and participate in required parole programs such as Cognitive Skills Training (see page 2), specifically designed for serious offenders. Board officials say that transitional services for long-term inmates is a critical component of a public safety program. 
Last minute bulletin ... 
Governor Zell Miller announced on December 16 that the Democratic legislative leadership would propose a Constitutional amendment to abolish parole for any conviction on or after July 1, 1999, of crimes defined by the General Asembly. The Legislative session convenes on January 12. 
Vol. 1, No.1 Report on Parole is published by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, Public Information Unit, Fourth Floor, East Tower, Floyd Veterans Memorial Building, 2 M.L.K., Jr. Drive, S.E., Atlanta, GA. 30334. Copyright 1997 by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Permission is granted to reproduce text from Report on Parole provided attribution is given, with the exception that this permission does not extend to any material copyrighted by others. Photographs may not be reproduced except by permission. The Public Information Unit (tel404-651-5897 or fax 404-65Hi723) welcomes your comments.