Parole review [Vol. 1, no. 1 (Oct. 1999)]

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The

III

Parole

Review

October 1999

Walter S. Ray, Chairman

The Official Publication of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles The Honorable Roy E. Barnes, Governor
Bobby K. Whitworth Garfield Hammonds, Jr. Dr. Betty A. Cook

Volume I, Issue I Dr. Eugene Walker

Chairman's Message

Board's 'Results Driven Supervision'

In the driver's seat model awarded national honor

We've been

It's been three years

Technology that had never

of the eight best state govern-

through a lot in the

since the State Board of

been used anywhere before in ment programs in America.

last two years or

Pardons and Paroles first

parole supervision is now a

Jim Bralley, director of

so, haven't we?

implemented the pilot programs necessary tool of the trade.

field operations for the agency,

We've sur-

that led to what is now com-

It was a shift that

smiles when asked to recall the

vived the push by

monly known as Results Driven required a great deal of

changes that occurred when

some to abolish

Supervision.

courage, sacrifice, and innova- Results Driven Supervision was

parole. We've

In three years, the

tive thinking. And now that

implemented.

revised our supervi-

agency has experienced a

ingenuity has been recognized

Bralley said that when

sion philosophy to

near-total turnaround in its

and honored. In August, the

Board members and senior

focus on positive

modes of thinking and operat- State Board of Pardons and

personnel made the commit-

results for parolees,

ing, and in doing so has shifted Paroles was awarded the

ment to develop and implement

and that effort has

Board Chairman

from a supervision model that Council of State Government's Results Driven Supervision,

been rewarded by

Walter S. Ray

was based on numbers of con- Innovations Award, which

"we weren't just on the cutting

the Council of S.tat~

'.

_ t.acts to one that is based on _ de?lared .Geor~i~'s R~sUlts.._ SEE 'RESULTS:ON.P.2...

=- -eovernments~wlth'1ts'''lnnovatronsAward --~, .. -oatcom-esand-performance-.~-Dnvenr.Supervlslon-model one - - - -- - - - - -

_

declaring our Results Driven Supervision one of

Officers, personnel honored at PAOG the best government programs in the nation. And
we've developed great ties with the present Executive Administration - Governor Roy

Barnes has pledged to include in the budget he

The 20th

submits to the legislature next year additional

- Annual Training

funding to raise parole officers' salaries to target levels.
It looks like we're in the driver's seat, and in some respects we are: we've got a lot of wonderful opportunities ahead of us, but sitting in the driver's seat also means we have new responsibilities. If we don't take advantage of our present situation, we may find ourselves fighting for survival much like we were two years ago.
The biggest key - our greatest opportunity - is to tell our story to as many Georgians as we can. We are one of the few states in the nation that can tell a positive story about what the parole system is doing to improve the public's safety and to improve the lives of our parolees.
Unfortunately, it's not enough to simply do good things. Doing good things is, of course, the most important aspect of any government service, but you have to get the word out about them.
That was the idea behind the local public education initiative we instituted recently. That's been a crucial part of our current success, and we must continue to focus on ways we can tell the parole story in Georgia.
Inside this newsletter you'll find more information about the good work you've done and how it shapes the success story that is parole in Georgia. I urge you to share the news with your neighbors, family, fellow citizens and friends, and I urge you to continue the good work you do for this agency and the state of Georgia.

Conference for the Parole Association of Georgia was a great success.
Attendees were able to cash in on important training sessions and were also treated to special addresses from House Speaker Tom Murphy and Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. A videotaped message from Governor Roy Barnes was a big highlight he promised to recommend to the legislature additional funding that will bring parole officers' salaries up to target levels.
PAOG also presented a number of awards to truly deserving personnel. Bettye Padgett of Lyons was honored as the Billy Murphey Parole Officer of the Year, and Jacky Beavers was named the agency's Volunteer of the Year. Sharon

Specialized Parole Officer Bettye Padgett of Lyons is awarded the Billy Murphey Parole Officer of the Year award by Board Chairman Walter Ray and Chuck Topetzes, director of parole.

Goolsby, office manager for the Interstate Compact Unit, was honored with The President's Award, and Pam Wiggins, senior secretary at the Statesboro Parole Office, won the Top Ad Sales award.
The Tommy Morris Distinguished Service Awards went to: Penny Starks, confidential secretary to

Board Member Dr. Betty A. Cook; Gail Burford, staff development training coordinator for the Board; and Deloris Jones, parole investigator at the Savannah Parole Center.
Winners of the Innovation Awards were: Information

Technology Director David Sheffield (individual award), District #29/North Fulton (parole office award) and the Special Operations Unit (unit award).
Employees of the Year were: Richard Oleson (central office), Chris

SEE 'PAOG' ON P. 2

--

eVlew

I
FIELD NOTES

New Board member is public servant, educator

Columbus officers aid in two-week drug suppression operation
Columbus parole officers Wayne Day, AI Dean, Jimmy Ivey and Sam Nelson were presented with certificates of appreciation from the Columbus Police Department and Columbus Against Drugs (CAD) in recognition of their nine years of voluntary participation with CAD.
The presentations were made just weeks after field personnel from the Columbus Parole Office participated in a multi-jurisdictional drug suppression operation that targeted the North Highland area of Columbus for two straight weeks in late July and early August.
Officers aided the Columbus Police Department in serving city warrants, conducting drug raids, operating traffic check points, spoturine sampling parolees and probationers for drug use, and patrolling neighborhoods on foot. Columbus parole officers arrested only three parolees during the two-week operation: one on an outstanding parole warrant, one on felony drug charges, and another for violating the city's opencontainer law.
The operation culminated with a neighborhood march by CAD representatives and criminal justice professionals. Officers joined the march and served as security for the citizens as they marched through drug and crime-ridden neighborhoods to protest drug trafficking and other crimes.

Governor Roy E. Barnes appointed the newest member of the State Parole Board, Dr. Eugene Walker of DeKalb County, in April of 1999.
Dr. Walker's background includes exten-, sive service in leadership positions in government and education. Before joining the Parole Board, he was Commissioner of the Department of Juvenile Justice for nearly four years.
Prior to his service at the Department of Juvenile Justice, Dr. Walker was a fourterm member of the State Senate, where he chaired the Senate Reapportionment Committee and sat on a number of other influential Senate panels. While in the
Board Member Senate, Dr. Walker Dr. Eugene Walker also made Georgia
history by being the first person of color to hold the position of Senate Majority Whip.
Dr. Walker also made his mark in
Georgia's educational systems, having served

in teaching or administrative positions in Georgia's public schools, technical schools, and university systems.
After a stint teaching and coaching in his native Thomaston, Dr. Walker returned to Clark College as a Professor of History and coach while finishing his Ph.D. in History from Duke University.
He then moved on to a variety of administrative positions in academia, including posts at DeKalb College, DeKalb Technical Institute and the DeKalb County School System.

Hammonds preserving peace officers'

Eatonton's Stubbs pitches TOPPSTEP to prisoners
Officer Tamara Stubbs 01' the -Eatonton Parole Office made a presentation to inmates at the Putnam County State Prison about the expectationsof parole and the new TOPPSTEP employment program on July 30.
Lafayette Chief assisting in child pornography investigation
Lafayette Chief Parole Officer Harris Childers has been assisting the LaFayette Police Department and the Lookout Mountain District Attorney's Office in a child pornography investigation.
Chief Childers conducted file searches of two computers confiscated during the investigation and will testify as to the results of the searches if the case comes to trial. The subject (who was not a parolee) was arrested recently by the Lafayette Police Department on six counts of sexual exploitation of a child.
Cairo's Smith aids in drug bust one pound of cocaine found
Cairo Parole Officer Mark Smith and Southwest Regional Director Blake Griffin assisted the Cairo Police Department in the early-morning execution of a search warrant on the residence of parolee Kenneth Williams.
The initial search yielded several pieces of crack cocaine and several thousand dollars. Another search of a nearby house also owned by Parolee Williams turned up approximately one pound of powder cocaine, more crack cocaine, and approximately $1,000 in cash.
This was one of the largest drug busts in Cairo's history. Parolee Williams refused to sign a waiver and is awaiting a revocation hearing and disposition of the pending drug charges.

integrity in POST Council position

Parole Board Member Garfield Hammonds, Jr., sees the job of the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Council as having one broad purpose: to preserve the professional integrity of Georgia's criminal justice community.
Having served on the POST Council for nearly five months, Hammonds' has, unfortunately, seen a few cases of peace officers whose integrity lapsed. That's why the council is there, he said - not only to

establish certification and training: procedures, but to enforce them, too.
"Integrity is a very impoijant part of our jobs in law enforcement, and I've seen firsthand a lack of integrity in some of the cases we've investigated," Hammonds said. "I would hate to have to appear before the POST Council with a problem, because I'd know it's very likely that my career in law
SEE 'POST' ON P. 4

Board Member Garfield Hammonds

'RESULTS' CONTINUED FROM p.l
edge, we were defining the cutting edge. We were combining what the academicians said worked with technology that had never been used in a parole-supervision setting. Now other states are interested in how we do things."
That may be an understatement. Ron Corbett, Deputy Commissioner of Massachusetts' Probation Commission and editor of the American Probation and Parole Association's journal "Perspectives", praised Georgia's approach in a recent article and said America's criminal justice professionals "will follow Georgia's experiences with great interest."
Apparently the Council of State Governments is convinced the Results Driven Supervision approach is the right move. But, as Bralley points out, this isn't the last step Georgia will take.
"That's the beauty of Results Driven Supervision and the technology that is used to manage it - we can see the results in real time and make modifications in an instant," he said. "It's a great program in that we can watch it work as a system, make adjustments, and move forward."

Board member Dr. Gene Walker (left) presents the PAOG Innovation Award to Special Operations Unit members (I-r) Tracy Bowers, Brian Johnston, Louis Tsang and Lee Moss.
'PAOG' CONTINUED FROM p.l
Busby (central region), Benjamin Gadson (metro region), Kathy Ruddy (northeast region), Maggie Merriman (northwest region), Perry Price (southwest region), and Diana Person (southeast region).
Congratulations again go to all award recipients and nominees.

October 1999

.

'Operation TOPPSTEP' now in place

Operation TOPPSTEP, the state's employment assistance service for parolees, probationers and other offenders, has been fully implemented by a collaborative effort of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, Department of Corrections and the Department of Labor.
Backed by Governor Roy Barnes, the initiative provides a standardized method for ensuring the employment readiness of offenders when released from prison or sentenced to probation. Operation TOPPSTEP also

addresses one of the tenets of Results Driven Supervision reaching a stable employment status for parolees as quickly as possible after release.
"We hope to see very positive results early on from Operation TOPPSTEP," said Joe McAdoo, program manager. "We will begin marketing it soon to employers thro.ughout the state. With the structure this program provides, we are confident we will see some increased levels of offender employment rates."

TOPPSTEP logos, as seen below and to the right, will soon be visible in Labor Department and employer offices statewide.

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~AROLEE ~ROBATIONER ..;.T;;.;;AT.;.;E~ _
I iRAINING

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The Parole Review -- Page 3
FIELD NOTES
Adairsville officers participate in Drugs Don't Work forum
Chief Parole Officer Randy Green and Senior Parole Officer Maggie Merriman joined Rusty Gray of the Board's community based services division in a presentation made in conjunction with the Cartersville-Bartow County Chamber of Commerce's Drugs Don't Work Committee.
The trio spoke to employees from Muzzy Products and Chemical Products on a variety of topics: electronic monitoring, drug addiction, offender rehabilitation, and an overall picture of the parole system. Their efforts were featured in the Cartersville-Bartow Chamber's newspaper insert in the September 5 edition of the Cartersville Daily Tribune.
Adairsville Officers Green, Merriman and Tom Rucker made a similar presentation to the Adairsville Lions Club on August 12. Approx-imately 45 Lions Club members were in attendance.
Cochran PO helps bust pot grower

Full slate of activities set statewide

to observe Domestic Violence Month

A host of activi-

ranging from fund-raising road races to candlelight

ties will be sponsored by

vigils. Other activities include helping host forums

parole offices across the

and symposiums, distributing ribbons and bows,

-state'dt:lring-ectober-in~

.--- and-raising- awareness- in-other- ways.

observance of Domestic

"All of these efforts are part of a greater

Violence Awareness

goal- saving the life of a potential victim, or con-

Month. Participation in

vincing a victim to seek help before it's too late,"

observance events has

Cook said.

become a yearly tradi-

Other highlights of observance activities

tion for the agency.

statewide include:

"The Board has

**A month-long drive seeking donations of

become a leader in the

food and personal care items for a shelter for bat-

state over the last few years in raising awareness about this tragic,

Board Member Dr. Betty Cook

tered women and children **Parole officers meeting with victims of
domestic violence to provide counsel on ending

all-too-common phe-

abusive relationships

nomenon," said Board Member Dr. Betty A. Cook,

**Distributions of purple ribbons to be worn

who also serves on the Georgia Commission on to promote Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Family Violence. "The possibilities for raising

**Balloon releases to signify and honor

awareness about domestic violence are limitless those slain in domestic violence-related homicides

- our offices have shown a great deal of commit-

**A wide variety of media appearances,

ment and creativity in bringing this issue to the

including newspaper articles and television stories

forefront."

about domestic violence and public service

Parole offices will participate in activities announcements.

Cochran Police Chief Robert Smitdz praised Senior Parole Officer Spence Barron and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles for Officer Barron's role in the arrest of parolee Anne Flowers Lyles.
1 Officer Barron, working with the local law enforcement officers in executing an arrest warrant on Lyles for a theft charge, found the parolee and her husband growing marijuana and.in possession .of seeds and .scales. Chief Smitdz was quoted in the Bleckley County News as saying, "the cooperation between the PD, SO, and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles resulted in not only solving a major theft case, but also landed a suspected marijuana grower behind bars. This type of cooperation is what is needed to solve major cases."
Lyons PO helps bust cocaine dealer
Lyons Parole Officer Rocker Hartley, while conducting routine supervision, observed in a parolee's home what appeared to be cocaine residue, several small unused bags for packaging cocaine and other paraphenalia. He immediately contacted a local investigator who had been working a case of suspected drug trafficking in the area of the parolee'S residence. A search conducted by the two revealed a 9mm pistol, 20 small bags of marijuana and three small bags of cocaine. Officer Hartley's quick response removed an armed drug dealer from the community.

Cairo officers assist in massive traffic check point, arrest three

During the Labor Day weekend Parole Officers Mark Smith, Mitzi Antonio, Matt Littleton, Vernon Bonner, Tim Lindsay, and Albany Chief Leslie Lamb aided the Grady County Sheriff's Office in conducting traffic check points that stopped an estimated 1,000 cars and resulted in the arrest of three parolees and 33 others.
Officers identified a total of nine parolees during the operation, which was conducted on a heavily traveled road that leads to a popular night club in Grady County. Officers arrested only three parolees and ordered six others to appear at administrative hearings.

Pa e 4 -- The Parole Review

Director's Message
Focus always on

ositive outcomes

It's frustrating that the media coverage you

see about parole is usually a television piece or

newspaper article about an isolated case of a

parolee committing a violent crime against an

innocent citizen.

Too little attention is paid to what works in

the parole system. We've been forced to focus our

attention on the

minority of parolees

who fail, and not the

majority who suc-

ceed.

We've made

great strides in the

way we supervise

parolees in Georgia.

And a lot of that has

to do with the use of

new technology.

With this new tech-

nology, we can focus on the good things that are helping

Director of Parole Charles Topetzes

parolees turn their lives into something meaningful

and productive, and we can begin to better under-

stand the differences between those who fail and

those who make it.

With case-management and database sys-

tems like FLOID and THELMA LOU, we can test

the prevailing criminal justice theories and learn

very quickly the ones tha! wQrk and those that do

not.

We can even learn the types of parolees

most likely to respond to~certain programs and

efforts. All this knowledge ultimately means better

supervision and better results.

But there's always more we can learn and

more technology we can use to our advantage.

We cannot forget that, while we have come a long

way, this agency and its staff must be willing to

evolve if our success is to continue. We must use

technology to move us forward, and we must also

rely on all our tools -- knowledge, community

resources, and especially our willingness to think

and act in new ways. It's only in that manner will

we achieve the goals we've set out under our

Results Driven Supervision model. And that is the

(point of why we were one of the winners of the

national Council of State Government's awards for

innovations in government.

But the key for us is to focus on what

works -- that's why we are where we are today,

and that's why we'll continue to succeed tomorrow.

The
Parole
Review

The Official Publication of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles
Walter S. Ray Board Chairman

Bobby K. Whitworth Board Member

Garfield Hammonds. Jr. Board Member

Dr. Betty A. Cook Board Member

Dr. Eugene P. Walker Board Member

Board members, officers conduct

first hearings via teleconference

Board Member Dr. Betty A. Cook recently conducted the first parole revocation hearing over the GSAMS (Georgia Statewide Academic and Medical System) teleconferencing network.
By using the teleconferencing system, Board members can conduct revocation hearings from Atlanta with parolee~ throughout the state at correctional facilities. The result: lower costs and increased safety for all involved.
According to Jay Hancock, senior field operations officer, board members will still conduct some hearings and other public meetings throughout the state, but the use of GSAMS allows a great deal of flexibility in deciding parole revocation cases.

Taking advantage of technology
Board Member Dr. Betty A. Cook (far right) and Field Operations Officer Barbara Stayton conduct the Board's first revocation hearing via teleconference. Dr. Cook and Stayton used the two televisions (top left) and the GSAMS satellite network to conduct the hearings.

"From time to time,
c~ises develop that must be

.Ing the state andcod n utc'Ing

Departments of Correctl'ons,

revocation hearings at state and Education and Administrative

expedited, and GSAMS helps county jails, and conducting

Services in implementing the

accomplish that," he said.

them via teleconferencing is a teleconferenced hearings.

In the past, he pointed natural progression that will

GSAMS is currently

out, parole officers would have ease the workload .of parole offi- used by the Department of

to get up at odd hours of the

cers and board members alike. Corrections for medical exami-

night to pick up a parolee and

Hancock said that sev- nations of inmates, and the

transport him or her to a revo-
cation h~aring in Atlanta. That

eral formats for conducting the Departments of Education and hearings over the GSAMS net- Adult and Technical Education,

process Involved extra costs

work are still being experiment- along with the Board of

and elevated safety c.o-,w~rns-'----ed with. The agency has-- ~- c_ Regents'; also use GSAMS fot

Board members are now travel- worked in collaboration with the distance learning projects.

Support staffconference: 'don't worry, be happy'

The theme 'don't worry, be happy' reflected the energy and positive attitude generated at the Board's third-annual Support Staff Conference, which was held recently in Gainesville.
''This was a great theme to work with ," said Staff Development Training Coordinator Gail Burford. "It was very positive and everyone had a lot of fun with it."
During the three-day conference staff members attended motivational classes that focused on issues varying from the need for change in the business of state government to self-defense.
Conference

Walt Davis (right, standing), assistant director of the clemency/parole selection division, addresses a workshop during the recent staff support conference in Gainesville.

attendees also heard presentations from a number of agency divisions, including computer services and clemency/parole selection. They also were

treated to a presentation on gang violence from Jack Holliday and a motivational speech from State Rep. Brooks Coleman.
''This is one of

the nicest things the agency does for its staff," Burford said. "It got everybody motivated to go back to work and look at things with a different attitude."

'POST' CONTINUED FROM p.2

enforcement was about to be over." Hammonds and other POST Council
members meet quarterly to preside, among other things, over administrative.hearings for officers who have been charged with misconduct. The council can suspend or revoke a peace officer's certification if it is proven necessary.

But Hammonds pointed out that Georgia's peace officers are some of the besttrained in the world.
"We need, and the citizens of this state deserve, the best trained professionals we can get," Hammonds said, "and we're providing the very best peace officers possible."