PROBATION BOARD DOES WELL IN DEBT COLLECTIONS

With the exception of those who have been placed under its jurisdiction, most people probably are unfamiliar with the workings of the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole.

Because the board's officers deal primarily with those who have committed a crime and are on probation, or have been to prison and paroled, the majority of people never come into contact with its officers. The board was established to serve the state courts as part of the vast criminal justice system, and as such, seldom is it thrust into public view.

A rare occasion was Sunday when the Southeast Missourian reported that approximately 95 percent of those in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties who are convicted of crimes and are on probation make court-ordered restitution for their thievery or the damages they have caused. The story also gave insight into board programs designed to educate and find meaningful work for probationers.

Clarence Ackman, longtime district supervisor for the board, said that last year almost $32,000 in restitution was made in the three-county district and almost $6.4 million was made statewide. In addition, almost $8,400 in court costs were collected in the district and in excess of $2.2 million in court costs were collected statewide. The state Crime Victim's Compensation Fund got a boost of almost $189,000 from within the three counties; statewide, almost $212 million went into the fund.

The amounts collected within the three counties are impressive considering the board's heavy caseload. Only 13 officers two fewer than the district's authorized number are responsible for supervising 441 felony probationers and 247 misdemeanor probationers. Not all are anxious to pay, and undoubtedly officers' coaxing of probationers to pay is responsible for much of the collections.

A new computer program being set up in the Cape Girardeau County circuit clerk's office that will be operated jointly with the probation office promises to further boost collections. Through it, wages of people who haven't paid court costs or made restitution for some time will be garnished, further assuring that probationers pay for their crimes.

No probationer can pay his debt if he is unemployed, and two programs within the district are aimed at preparing unemployed probationers for work. One instructs probationers on how to apply for work, how to find job leads and make contacts, and how to conduct job interviews. Its success is apparent: of 19 people referred to the program last month, nine obtained jobs.

The other program leads to probationers who don't have a high school degree obtaining their General Education Diploma. That many times is ordered by a judge as a term of probation for those capable of getting the diploma, and it also helps to qualify those people for employment. The program is offered in very few of the board's districts.

The entire system is designed to help people who have done wrong right their ways, and, without fanfare, the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole is doing its part toward that end.