Ohio imprisons 567 people per 100,000 residents, 15th most in the country, while spending $181 for every resident of the state to do so, a new analysis reveals. The review from HowMuch.net found Ohio spends less on a per capita basis than other nearby states, even as the number of people in prison in the state is higher than […]
INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) recently launched a public awareness campaign to educate youths about the dangers of e-cigarettes, or “vaping.” The “Behind the Haze” campaign is part of a $2 million effort announced by Governor Eric J. Holcomb and State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG, to reduce vaping among Indiana youth. […]
La PORTE — In January, La Porte County officials will flip the switch on some significant overhauls to the criminal justice system — changes leaders hope will result in a smaller jail population. At its meeting Monday, the La Porte County Council approved the hiring and training of two new pretrial service officers at the […]
Liz Benton recently quit weed after smoking it at least once a day for seven years — and the first week was especially brutal. Within two days of quitting, she experienced a panic attack. She struggled to fall asleep, and when she did, she’d have horrifying nightmares, or wake up in the middle of the night, […]
A federal judge on Wednesday afternoon ordered a former probation agent to pay seven figures to a Casper woman whom he sexually harassed while she was on probation. The probation agent, Jaret Maul, no longer works for the probation office, which is a part of the Wyoming Department of Corrections. The government agency was never […]
Matthew Menendez. Michael Crowley, Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Noah Atchison
Executive Summary The past decade has seen a troubling and well-documented increase in fees and fines imposed on defendants by criminal courts. Today, many states and localities rely on these fees and fines to fund their court systems or even basic government operations. A wealth of evidence has already shown that this system works against […]
EVANSVILLE, Ind. –- Vanderburgh County government officials face a list of difficult questions this week as they dive back into jail expansion discussions. How many more jail beds does the county need? How many might be required in 10 years, 20 years? What can taxpayers reasonably afford? Could temporary structures become part of the solution? […]
A growing number of smaller companies are adopting a four-day workweek. Now the results of a recent trial at Microsoft suggest it could work even for the biggest businesses. The company introduced a program this summer in Japan called the “Work Life Choice Challenge,” which shut down its offices every Friday in August and gave […]
William Troutman Jr., 46, got his second chance at a recycling center. He started as a picker on the presort line, then he got his forklift certification. He was recently promoted. He makes $10.50 per hour working the floor where recycled material gets compressed and shipped away. “This place opened the doors when they didn’t […]
The Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council’s report, Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Annual Evaluation of Indiana’s Criminal Code Reform December 1, 2019 was posted to their website.
VALPARAISO — Porter County’s innovative pretrial release program is being held up as a potential model for all Indiana counties to follow, especially those with bulging jail populations. On Wednesday, the Indiana Jail Overcrowding Task Force, led by Supreme Court Justice Steven David, visited the Porter County Jail and Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso […]
Email from Katie McCall, CEO 3rd Millennium Classrooms
Did you know that “transient” people are more vulnerable to human trafficking? This includes the homeless, runaway youth, and those transitioning through the foster system. Traffickers often use promises of shelter, food and money as a lure for the homeless or other vulnerable populations into the horrendous world of trafficking. According to Thorn, an anti-trafficking […]
Tom Rhodes, who has served as the Monroe County Community Corrections Director for almost 30 of the program’s 37 years of existence, is retiring. Rhodes also has served concurrently as the assistant chief probation officer for the Monroe Circuit Court Probation Department. There [was] a retirement reception in courtroom 313 of the Charlotte T. Zietlow […]
Trine student assisting with assessment at Allen County Juvenile Center ANGOLA — Sydney Stephan hopes to one day become an attorney specializing in family and elder matters. She is preparing for that now by seeing how things work on the other side of the law. Stephan, a Trine University freshman from Fort Wayne, is working […]
“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” — author Neil Postman The Indiana Youth Institute, with the assistance of a $1.25 million grant from the Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention, is developing programs to assist children impacted by the opioid crisis. The pilot projects, in partnership with […]
State Sen. Darryl Rouson, a Democrat from St. Petersburg, filed a bill which would set a framework for judges to re-sentence inmates who are serving outdated sentences no longer in state law. The problem was highlighted in a Times/Herald investigation published Wednesday. The story showed how Florida’s continued changes to its drug sentencing laws have […]
Can education about bias and institutionalized racism help improve child welfare throughout Indiana? Nonprofit organization Child Advocates, with support from the Central Indiana Community Foundation, is betting that it can. Child Advocates has been leading educational workshops for hundreds of local businesses and community leaders since 2010, but it only recently launched a highly localized version of […]
About 64 Franklin County Juvenile Court probation department employees will be affected next year when their jobs are eliminated and and they have to seek positions with vastly different, more complex responsibilities as part of a plan to transform the way juveniles are supervised. The new Community Restoration Services Department will operate under the idea […]
Carmel Clay Schools passed Indiana’s first school safety referendum, asking voters to approve a new type of property tax increase to pay for improved security measures. Carmel, the first district to test the new tool created by lawmakers earlier this year, was one of 10 school districts around the state asking voters for more money. Six of those districts […]
CROWN POINT — More than two dozen people packed a small conference room Monday at the Lake County Juvenile Center to begin the process of fine-tuning a tool officials use to decide when children accused of delinquency should be detained. Lake Juvenile Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak echoed Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven David when he […]
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and other city officials announced Wednesday afternoon that Evansville was awarded a $1 million federal grant to help youth affected by opioid and substance abuse connect to local services. Winnecke, as well as other speakers, informed the crowd at Youth First Inc. about the grant, which was awarded to […]
Reactions have been mixed to the recent announcement that the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will no longer prosecute cases of simple possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana. Then-acting Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced the policy change Sept. 30 after what he said was about two years of discussion within the office and with other […]
SOUTH BEND — Children at the Juvenile Justice Center in South Bend could see some big changes in their stays. The JJC is close to settling a lawsuit. That lawsuit centers around an 11-year-old boy. His parents say the JJC frequently kept their son in solitary confinement and offered him no special education or support. […]
The Indiana Office of Court Services will be providing trainings in Indianapolis to kick off 2020! All trainings will take place at our offices, located at 251 N. Illinois Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Below is the list of the trainings, including registration links. IOCS will not provide lunch or hotel for these trainings. Case Management: […]
(PENDELTON) – Correctional Industrial Facility (CIF) hosted a tour of their Joni & Friends Wheels for the World wheelchair refurbishment shop. Senior Manager for Domestic Operations Paul Dorthalina was joined by Joni & Friends outreach staff from Chicago, program donors and volunteers, along with correctional staff from Ohio who are interested in starting this program […]
Methamphetamine use appears to be making a comeback as the country continues to grapple with the opioid epidemic. Methamphetamine use appears to be making a comeback as the country continues to grapple with the opioid epidemic. But unlike the period marked a decade ago by hodgepodge labs hidden in rural communities in Indiana and elsewhere, the reemergence appears […]
Human trafficking and domestic violence both desire the same thing: power and control. They can manifest themselves in very similar ways — coercion, manipulation, force. These crimes against humanity affect millions, both women and men, of every race, religion, culture and status. It’s not just punches and black eyes or voluntary work and nights out […]
“Monroe Circuit Court to give new ‘drug court’ a try,” said a June 1999 headline in the Herald-Times. The story described a pilot project that former Monroe Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Todd and then-Prosecutor Carl Salzmann had proposed to the county council that would redirect resources to a court focused on helping the addicted break […]
HARTFORD CITY, Ind. (AP) — A 49-year-old Indiana man on probation has been charged with new drug charges including possession of synthetic urine. The Star Press reports Kirk Allen Boughman was charged Friday with felony possession of methamphetamine and three misdemeanors. The Hartford City man was out on probation when authorities conducted a “compliance search” […]
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) is making up to $837,156.00 in FY19 Federal Title II funding available for calendar year 2020 programs. Applications for the FY19 Federal Title II Funds are due by Monday, November 25th 2019. Only Indiana state agencies and units of local government are eligible to apply for Title II program […]
INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — Marion County is now using technology to help streamline the check-ins some criminal offenders on parole. New kiosks have been installed at the City County building downtown. The kiosks allow some offenders on probation to check in instead of meeting directly with a probation officers. The kiosks only work with low-level offenders […]
Purpose The County Jail Overcrowding Task Force was established in 2019 (IC 11-12-6.8) to conduct a statewide review of jail overcrowding and identify common reasons and possible local, regional and statewide solutions. The task force will also study the issue of reducing recidivism for convicted felons in county jails by offering programs that address mental […]
WESTVILLE – The La Porte Circuit Court’s annual Juvenile Symposium dealt with some of the most sensitive topics in law enforcement today: race, equity and inclusion. On Saturday, more than 160 stakeholders took part in the symposium at Purdue University Northwest’s Westville campus. The purpose was to “provide a venue whereby participants from varying disciplines […]
With 23 million Americans recovering from addiction and 20 million still seeking treatment, Google decided to use its power to help out, resulting in its new Recovery Resource Hub Only 10% of people who struggle with addiction receive treatment, according to the Addiction Center. Sometimes it can be difficult for those wanting help to find it, […]
Perhaps as a reflection of his time in the U.S. Air Force, Cass Superior Judge Richard Maughmer ran his court in a no-nonsense manner, and lawyers practicing before him knew they had better be on time, be prepared and follow the rules. “I respected him dearly,” said Yamir Gonzalez Velez, president of the Cass County […]
Nick Philbeck has witnessed repeatedly how the anger crime victims can feel will melt when they sit across the table and see the offender is a 15-year-old kid. Since 2004, Philbeck has worked at the Community Justice & Mediation Center in Bloomington, where he has mediated in the restorative justice program. Now as the restorative […]
A case that split the Indiana Supreme Court last December over a criminal defendant’s mental capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions dovetails into a larger question looming before the U.S. Supreme Court — whether states have to provide laws that allow for an insanity defense. Cases raising the issue of how much evidence […]
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday asked the Indiana General Assembly for guidance as it sharply divided over whether minor felonies reduced to misdemeanor convictions should trigger new five-year waiting periods for people seeking to expunge their criminal records. The majority ruled they should, a result the dissenting judge called “unjust and ill-advised.” The […]
CJ Miller, District 5 was re-elected as Treasurer Melanie Pitstick, Marion County was re-elected as District Five Representative Due to not receiving any nominations for Districts 1 and 3, the Board filled the vacancies. Robert Schuster (District 1) Sarah Lochner (District 3) were nominated by the Board and accepted the positions/terms. The full Board Member […]
A week after he became acting Marion County prosecutor, Ryan Mears announced the office will no longer be prosecuting defendants accused of possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana. “Too often, an arrest for marijuana possession puts individuals into the system who otherwise would not be,” Mears said at a press conference Sept. 30 announcing […]
The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications is investigating the May 1 shooting that left two Clark County judges wounded and one convicted of misdemeanor battery, the Indiana Supreme Court confirmed Wednesday. A court spokeswoman said the JQC is investigating the shooting outside of a downtown Indianapolis White Castle that put Clark County Judges Andrew Adams […]
The Midwest Gang Investigators Association Indiana Chapter invites you to attend: 2019 Gang Trends & Updates November 6th, 2019 In conjunction with the Indiana State Police (ISP), Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC), and the Indianapolis Metro Police Department (IMPD). LOCATION: Monroe Convention Center ADDRESS: 302 South College Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47403 8-hours of ILEA training […]
New York, New York – Today, Arnold Ventures and the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG) announced the selection of 10 jurisdictions to participate in the Reducing Revocations Challenge, a national initiative dedicated to transforming probation supervision and reducing the number of unnecessary failures. The Challenge was launched in response to the growing […]
In celebration of the 2019 Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week, the Monroe Circuit Court probation department staff completed a service project for veterans. The department collected donations to provide gift bags to local veterans in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs Bloomington Community-Based Outpatient Clinic and the VA’s Bloomington Mental Health Clinic. The […]
The man who fired 15 times at his probation officers inside his Billings home in 2018 was given the maximum prison term Tuesday. Michael Jeffrey Anderson, 62, was sentenced to 40 years in the Montana State Prison, as prosecutors had sought. Yellowstone County District Judge Donald Harris also imposed a 20-year parole restriction. Defense attorney […]
It was a rewarding night’s work for two Washington probation officers when they saved a woman’s life while conducting a routine home check. WOODLAND, Washington — The Washington State Department of Corrections is commending two community corrections officers who helped save a woman’s life. It happened in Woodland during a routine home check. “Some days […]
On Thursday, September 5, 2019 at the Probation Officers Professional Association of Indiana (POPAI) annual fall conference, Lindsay Long, a probation officer with Miami County Probation, was presented the Line Probation Officer of the Year Award. The Line Probation Officer of the Year Award was established in 2014 to recognize line probation officers who have […]
On Friday, September 6, 2019 at the Probation Officers Professional Association of Indiana (POPAI) annual fall conference, Troy Hatfield, Deputy Chief Probation Officer of the Monroe Circuit Court Probation Department and vice president of POPAI, was awarded the “Founder’s Award”. The “Founder’s Award” is a way of recognizing individuals who have significantly contributed to the […]
POPAI provides a scholarship in memory of probation officer Donald “Charley” Knepple. Charley lost his life on April 28, 1997, while performing his probation officer duties in Allen County, Indiana. In an effort to honor an outstanding professional and to promote further professionalism, POPAI selected a scholarship that would encourage continued education and advanced degrees […]
LANSING – An all-white jury in Genesee County awarded $11.4 million Monday to two black Corrections Department workers in a case alleging racial discrimination and retaliation. The jury found that Lisa Griffey, a probation officer, was discriminated against and harassed because she is black. The jury found that her husband, Cedric Griffey, was retaliated against until […]
(CNN) A sixth person in the United States has died from lung disease related to vaping, Kansas health officials said Tuesday. The woman was older than 50 and had a history of health problems. She became seriously ill shortly after she started using e-cigarettes and her symptoms progressed rapidly. It’s not clear what type of […]
KINGMAN, Ariz. — An Arizona appeals court has ruled a defendant whose trial is pending cannot be forced to either pay hefty fees for GPS monitoring or wait in jail. The ACLU of Arizona challenged before the Arizona Court of Appeals the case of a man who was released while awaiting trial, couldn’t afford to pay hundreds […]
Overview Recent research from The Pew Charitable Trusts found that about 4.5 million people in the United States are on community supervision as of 2016. Probation and parole provide a measure of accountability while allowing those who would otherwise have been incarcerated or have already served a term behind bars to meet their obligations to […]
Meth – this is the drug the Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse says needs more attention. The commission met Thursday to discuss the emerging drug, in a shift that comes after years of statewide focus on the opioid epidemic. A recent preliminary Centers for Disease Control report shows promising signs that the opioid epidemic may be […]
Overview Incarceration has long dominated the national conversation on criminal justice, because the U.S. prison population skyrocketed between the 1980s and late 2000s. Starting in 2007, policymakers seeking to protect public safety, improve accountability, and save taxpayer dollars initiated a wave of bipartisan reforms that has reduced the number of people behind bars in many […]
Federal health officials proposed Thursday to revamp stringent patient confidentiality regulations from the 1970s to encourage coordination among medical professionals treating people caught in the nation’s opioid epidemic. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the goal is to make it easier to share a patient’s drug treatment history with doctors treating that person […]
In upholding a decades-old rule recently codified through a legislative amendment, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled in companion cases that trial courts can only modify a sentence entered as part of a fixed-plea agreement if the modified sentence would not have violated the plea agreement at the time the sentence was originally imposed. The […]
A juvenile court’s rulings in a murder case implicating a 15-year-old boy who had gone to the police station to answer questions after he had been treated for stab wounds were upheld Monday by the Indiana Court of Appeals. The panel affirmed the Lake Superior Court’s finding that there was probable cause to find O.E.W. […]
The Kosciusko County Probation Department will get a new officer in 2020 after Judge David Cates further explained Thursday to the county council how Criminal Rule 26 will affect the county. During a budget hearing Monday, he asked the council to reconsider their decision to not approve any additional probation officers for 2020 because of […]
Effort aims to get low-level offenders out of jail faster GOSHEN — People facing lower-level criminal charges who pose little risk to re-offend may get out of jail quicker under new rules that go into effect next year. The state guideline, called Criminal Rule 26, was piloted in 11 counties after the Indiana Supreme Court […]
ELKHART, Ind. (WNDU) – Officials in Elkhart announced an innovative rehabilitation program on Friday to help juvenile offenders get back on their feet. “Working together is the only way we are going to solve juvenile delinquency,” Elkhart Juvenile Court Magistrate Deborah Domine said. It’s a nationwide problem that officials are trying to solve locally in Elkhart. […]
Tommy Rieman is a decorated Army Veteran, Silver Star Recipient, AND a member of the first graduating class of a Veteran’s Treatment Court in North Carolina. Tommy served 15 years in the US Army as an infantryman and was deployed three times. His favorite job in the Army was his time on a LRS (Long […]
The Fall Conference is just around the corner. Remember to register and book your stay since the hotel fills up quickly. Plan to arrive around 11 am on Wednesday September 4th so you can check in and attend the Opening Session and Keynote with Harvey Alston at 1 then find a breakout session. On Thursday […]
The denial of a prisoner’s petition for post-conviction relief has been upheld after the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded the man’s guilty plea that included a habitual criminal offender enhancement was not involuntary. After Alandus James was charged with Class D felony battery on a child, Class D felony strangulation and Class D felony residential […]
In a published dissent to a denial of transfer, two Indiana Supreme Court justices had sharp words for the Department of Child Services and the lower courts that, according to the dissent, did not take advantage of an opportunity to “make things right” for a father and his two children. Majority justices Mark Massa, Geoffrey […]
Considered one of the most dynamic, “high octane” speakers in America, Harvey Alston has been a full-time speaker since 1989. He has spoken to millions of people throughout the United States who have benefited not only from his knowledge, but also from the wisdom that Harvey Alston brings to the finish line. Harvey Alston has […]
This summer and spring have been by all accounts the worst summer and spring for farming in quite a while, and not just here in the county. Corn and soybean farmers across Indiana, Ohio and Illinois suffered delayed planting caused by record-setting spring rains. Hoping for the wet to recede but not vanish, some farmers […]
CROWN POINT — Five boys being held at the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center listened intently Monday as Ivy Tech Community College instructor Alicia Hampton walked them through the basics of welding. “I don’t know what to do,” said one boy, the first to try a welding simulator Hampton brought with her. “I’m going to […]
HOUSTON—A settlement that ensures most misdemeanor defendants are quickly released and don’t languish in jail has been reached in a federal lawsuit over the bail system in Texas’ most populous county, officials announced Friday. The bail system in Harris County, where Houston is located, had been deemed unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal, who […]
I am pleased to announce that Angie Hensley has been appointed to serve as the IOCS Justice Services Deputy Director. Angie has worked at IOCS as a program coordinator within the Justice Services Division since 2011. Her duties have included developing and conducting evidence-based practice trainings for probation officers and problem solving courts; developing distance […]
POPAI’s own Susan Rice has been elected Vice President of the American Probation and Parole Association. The good news was announced in an email: Election Results The American Probation and Parole Association is pleased to announce the election of new officers and members of its Board of Directors. The newly elected officers are Brian Lovins, […]
An Indiana sheriff’s office took a “bite out of crime” Monday when they caught a woman wearing a set of dentures “that clearly were not hers” at her own probation meeting. Earlier that day, someone reported that a woman, identified as Joann Childers, from Jennings County, stole her teeth and accused her of wearing them around. A probation officer who […]
Opioid drug abuse continues to plague the state, particularly with populations who are or have been incarcerated. Nearly 20 percent of people sentenced to state prison or jail report regular opioid use according to the Substance Abuse and Mental health Administration. This is dangerous because people’s tolerance to opioids goes down while they are incarcerated, […]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Illinois’ new governor delivered on a top campaign promise Tuesday by signing legislation legalizing small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, the 11th state to do so and the first to implement a comprehensive statewide cannabis marketplace designed by legislators. Legalization in Illinois also means that nearly 800,000 people with criminal […]
The due date for Fall Awards nominations is August 5, 2019. Remember, if emailing the form and documentation, use cwood@vanderburghgov.org. Full Details
Despite recent changes to the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct meant to aid pro se litigants’ ability to be heard in court, an appellate panel ruled Friday that an inmate’s suit against a judge, a clerk and others was so confusing and repetitive that it was rightly dismissed. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the […]
BOONE COUNTY, W. Va. (WFLA/CNN) – Police in West Virginia say they’re seeing a dangerous trend in Boone county. Authorities say some drug abusers are using wasp spray as an alternative form of meth and the practice may have contributed to several overdoses. On Friday, stores in Boone County reported selling nearly 30 cans […]
Organizations team up to bring awareness to child sexual abuse in southwest Indiana See original article for video. EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – Several organizations teamed up to bring awareness to the rising issue of child sexual abuse in southwest Indiana. Authorities, survivors, and organizations that work to help victims all listened to each others stories. […]
(Video in original article.) FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Victims of domestic violence often have little more than a piece of paper to protect them from their attackers. But some local agencies — like the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office — are working to change that. Flagler County has been using a GPS ankle monitoring system for […]
A new report said Indiana’s numbers are down more than 35% since 2013. Nationally, that average number is only at 33%. INDIANA, (WLFI) – After years of a constant uphill battle against the opioid epidemic, Indiana is seeing some positive change. New numbers from the American Medical Association show Indiana’s opioid prescription drug rates are going down faster than […]
Across the country, the number of youth who are incarcerated is down. In 2017, 43,580 minors were incarcerated, a 4 percent drop from 2016. Compare those numbers with 2001, when 104,219 juveniles were detained – 58 percent more than in 2017. Juvenile incarceration peaked in 2000, according The Sentencing Project, and has been on a downward decline […]
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) – Officials in Porter County and 10 other Indiana counties are testing a risk-assessment program to determine whether people who have been arrested should be required to post bail while awaiting trial. Melanie Golumbeck, Porter County’s chief adult probation officer, said Indiana’s pretrial release program that launched in March 2017 evaluates jail […]
AUBURN — DeKalb County has received grant funds totaling $142,579 for the DeKalb County’s Veterans’ Treatment Court and Family Recovery Court programs, the DeKalb County Council heard Monday. Assistant Chief Probation Officer and Veterans’ Court coordinator Ryan Hull announced the grants and outlined how the funds would be used during Monday’s county council meeting. The […]
Hendricks Superior Judge Robert W. Freese has been suspended from judicial office without pay for 45 days after appointing a friend as a trustee of an estate case he was presiding over and failing to take action when the friend did not fulfill his duties, resulting in a “massive theft.” Freese’s judicial suspension will take […]
A malware attack on LaPorte County’s system has rendered email sent on or after July 5, 2019 (and continues at the time of the writing of this article) to our Board Member and Chair of Awards and Recognition Committee Bob Schuster unretrievable. Knepple Scholarship Applications returned via email on or after July 5 must be […]
Last week, LaPorte County was the target of a Malware Attack. All email sent since July 5, 2019 to our Board Member and Chair of Awards and Recognition Committee Bob Schuster is unretrievable. Knepple Scholarship Applications returned via email on or after July 5 must be resubmitted to Cherie Wood cwood@vanderburghgov.org. We are extending the […]
In the 1980s, France went through a heroin epidemic in which hundreds of thousands became addicted. Mohamed Mechmache, a community activist, described the scene in the poor banlieuesback then: “To begin with, they would disappear to shoot up. But after a bit we’d see them all over the place, in the stairwells and halls, the […]
Current and former inmates at the Henry County Jail will proceed as a class in a federal lawsuit broadly alleging overcrowded, unconstitutional and inhumane conditions at the facility in New Castle. Indiana Southern District Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker on Tuesday granted a motion for class certification on behalf of more than 100 current inmates, […]
Nominations are being accepted until August 5, 2019 for three awards presented during our Fall Conference in French Lick. The Founder’s Award is a way of recognizing individuals who have significantly contributed to the field of probation in general, and specifically to the POPAI organization. The recipient need not be a Probation Officer or POPAI […]
The Council of State Governments Justice Center Staff
New data released today by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center reveal the startling extent to which probation and parole violations contribute to states’ high prison admissions and populations, as well as the subsequent cost to taxpayers. The report — Confined and Costly: How Supervision Violations Are Filling Prisons and Burdening Budgets […]
A Clark County judge and the two men initially suspected of shooting two judges in May have been charged with felonies related to the shooting. Charges against Clark Circuit Judge Andrew Adams and Indianapolis residents Brandon Kaiser and Alfredo Vazquez were filed Friday. Adams is charged with two counts of felony battery, four counts of misdemeanor battery […]
Applicants for the Knepple Scholarship should act quickly and apply on or before July 12, 2019 More information including the downloadable application Questions? Contact Bob Schuster, Chair of Awards and Recognition Committee at 219-326-6808 Ext. 2511 or your POPAI District Representative.
Please submit your Intent to Run in the 2019 POPAI Elections soon, the deadline is Sunday July 7, 2019. Up for election in 2019: Vice-President Treasurer District 1 District 3 District 5 District 7 POPAI District 6 Representative Andria Geigle, is serving as the Election Committee Chair. Intent to Run Form The Intent to Run […]
Finding the disclosures provide information that any law enforcement agent “would love to have,” the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Indiana’s requirement that sex offender inmates give detailed accounts of their past actions violates the Constitution’s protections against self-incrimination. Donald Lacy, a sex offender inmate in the Indiana Department of Correction, filed a class […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday announced that it granted final approval to the first generic naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray, which can be used to reverse opioid overdoses. The approval is part of the FDA’s wider effort to make tools for stopping or preventing opioid overdoses more accessible and widely used. The agency […]
SEATTLE — Police officers sprang from a black patrol van on a recent day, surrounding two men smoking crack on a gritty downtown block. The officers asked for ID and confiscated a homemade pipe fashioned from glass and surgical hose.. Such stops have played out for decades on the front lines of the war on […]
HANCOCK COUNTY — If the sentencing is handed down the way deputy prosecutor David Thornburg believes it should be, a couple who were involved in a drug overdose in a Greenfield motel room will face jail time. Grant Hoefener, 33, Indianapolis, and his wife, Crystal Lee, 28, Anderson, were scheduled to be sentenced on multiple […]
American Probation and Parole Association Technology Committee
Social media platforms allow users to engage with each other using the Internet to participate in, comment on, and create content, including photos and videos, as a means of communication. Examples of social media include blogs, social networking sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr and Instagram), and other location-based networks. Social media […]
Senate Enrolled Act 33 and House Enrolled Act 1175 will make it easier for Hoosiers with drug addiction to receive treatment. (Indianapolis, Ind.) – A bill recently signed by Governor Eric Holcomb is expanding the number of opioid treatment centers in Indiana. In 2017, nearly 1,800 Hoosiers died of opioid overdoses, an all-time high for the […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California, Hawaii, Maine and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits Monday against the maker of OxyContin and the company’s former president, alleging the firm falsely promoted the drug by downplaying the risk of addiction while it emerged as one of the most widely abused opioids in the U.S. The lawsuits were […]
Indiana could soon have another next-door neighbor that allows recreational marijuana use. Illinois is on the verge of legalizing marijuana with major new legislation that also would expunge criminal records of people with minor pot possession convictions. The Illinois legislature gave final approval to the bill last week, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he […]
New resources, including important state workforce recovery guidelines and a supporting video toolkit to assist in their implementation, are now available for Indiana employers dealing with drug use in the workplace. In addition, a new statewide survey finds many employers underestimating the impact on their own organizations and are not seeking tools to help them […]
When a defendant is convicted and sentenced to prison, it’s expected that they will be required to work while incarcerated. But a group of inmates at the New Castle Correctional Facility, Indiana’s only privately run state prison, have brought a unique legal challenge that could limit the scope of what inmates at private prisons are […]
The state’s high court will not partake in arguments that laws criminalizing marijuana violated a man’s right to the pursuit of happiness, snuffing out his challenge to Indiana’s pot prohibition. Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court last week denied transfer in John L. Solomon v. State of Indiana, 18A-CR-2041, which posed to the court the novel question […]
Attorneys interested in receiving training on modest means and pro bono representation of domestic violence victims will have an opportunity to do so at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana next month. The Southern District Court announced the “Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence Satellite Attorney Recruitment & Training Program” on Friday. […]
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Crissie Brault is a Bloomington woman whose journey to sobriety has been fraught with arrests, the loss of her children, relapse and for now, sobriety. Brault entered a rehab facility in Anderson during the summer of 2018, where she agreed to document her daily struggle to remain sober. In the videos, she […]
One Indiana county remains to voluntarily implement electronic filing in its circuit and superior courts, wrapping up a years-long effort to make all 92 Indiana counties compliant with a statewide e-filing system. E-filing became available in Clinton and Pike counties Friday, leaving just Sullivan County to make the digital switch before the year’s end. Clinton […]
NEWARK – The DiSario family has filed a civil lawsuit against several officials in Licking County Municipal Court, alleging their actions led to the death of Kirkersville police chief Steven Eric DiSario two years ago Sunday. According to Licking County court records, a complaint was filed in Licking County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday. Plaintiffs […]
Submit your application to be considered for the Donald “Charley” Knepple Scholarship Award. The winner will be announced at the 2019 Annual Indiana Probation Officers Conference in August. The qualified candidate chosen for the Scholarship Award will be awarded $2,500.00 to help pay for their costs in continuing his or her education pursuing a Masters […]
Two Clark County judges are recovering from gunshot wounds in Indianapolis after being shot in downtown Indianapolis earlier this month. Meanwhile, two men accused in the shooting have been released from their bonds after the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office declined to file charges. Clark Circuit Judges Andrew Adams and Bradley Jacobs sustained injuries during an […]
The people who arrive at Magistrate Judge Tim Baker’s courtroom the first Thursday of every month are realizing that the path to redemption requires learning to trust, changing their mindset, sometimes turning away from family and friends, and securing the ordinary things of everyday life like clothes, food and toothpaste. These people are working to […]
While acknowledging Indiana’s efforts to reform its criminal justice system has slowed the growth of the state’s prison population, a new report by the ACLU of Indiana asserts that additional reforms, including expanded access to treatment for mental health and substance abuse, could reduce the number of incarcerated by 50 percent and save Hoosier taxpayers […]
The U.S. Surgeon General has recommended that all individuals who may come into contact with opioid abusers carry and know how to use naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug that saves lives (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). Because community supervision agencies regularly interact with opioid abusers, it is important they consider equipping […]
For several decades, supervision agencies have been leveraging a variety of technological innovations to better manage justice-involved individuals in the community. Perhaps no tool has captured the imagination of the criminal justice professionals and the public alike as much as location tracking system (LTS) technology, first introduced in 1996. The ability to track an individual […]
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – An undercover operation by Louisville Metro police resulted in at least four arrests of men accused of promoting human trafficking over Derby weekend, according to newsgathering partner WAVE3 News. Arrest reports for three of the suspects — Mohith Akula, 27, of Santa Clara, California; Jackson Jones, 54, of Radcliff, Kentucky and […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics “Employment Situation” data for April appeared to contain nothing but good news. Unemployment dropped to the lowest level since December 1969, as it fell to 3.6%. Jobs added in the month totaled 263,000. Notably, however, the jobs situation for black Americans remains substantially worse than that of almost any other […]
The Sentencing Tools Application has been updated to reflect the proper Credit Class P calculations based on Thompson v. State, where a person placed on pretrial home detention earns accrued time (calculated at a day for a day). For all Credit Classes except P, a defendant incarcerated in jail for even 6 to 8 hours prior to posting […]
BUNKER HILL – An inmate at Miami Correctional Facility, who said he was using self-defense when he punched and injured a prison guard who pushed him, is getting a new trial. In February 2018, Michael Hickingbottom was found guilty by a jury of battery resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer, a Level […]
It’s time for the annual POPAI Elections. Up for election in 2019: Vice-President Treasurer District 1 District 3 District 5 District 7 POPAI District 6 Representative Andria Geigle, is serving as the Election Committee Chair. Intent to Run Form The Intent to Run form must be sent to Andria by Sunday July 7, 2019 (postmarked, […]
Across 50 Indiana counties, 100 courts are operating under a nontraditional judicial model. The proceedings in these courts aren’t adversarial, they’re collaborative, allowing judges, litigants and lawyers to collectively work toward a desired outcome. And the parties aren’t limited to judges, attorneys and clients – community stakeholders are also integral. As Indiana’s 100th problem-solving court […]
Dr. Brian Lovins – Assistant Director for Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department – joins the podcast to talk about the state of community corrections and probation officers as coaches. In many agencies, probation officers have been encouraged or been permitted to follow the job role of “referee.” Because research links supervision effectiveness to officers […]
In the 2½ years since the Sixth Amendment Center released a report strongly condemning indigent criminal defense in Indiana, public defenders have pressed for reforms. Now, those efforts are beginning to bear fruit as the Indiana General Assembly takes action on reform legislation. The process has been admittedly slow. The Indiana Public Defender Commission presented […]
Since 2015, the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has moved into improving staff and inmate interaction and community involvement as ways to prepare inmates for life outside the prison as well as reducing recidivism. North Dakota prisons have a recidivism rate of 35 to 40 percent, according to Chad Pringle, warden of the […]
Mary L. DePrez, Director and Counsel for Trial Court Technology, Office of Judicial Administration
Text messaging has become an important tool for judges who continue to look for ways to improve customer service and bring the courts into the 21st century. Victim Safety Trial courts began using text reminders in April 2011. At that time, the statewide Protection Order Registry, a Registry of all protection orders developed by the […]
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and while there are many disturbing factors that have contributed to this trend, one of the least-discussed is the complex system of parole and probation that continues to ensnare convicted individuals long after they have paid their debt to society. An Economically Unjust and […]
SOUTHERN INDIANA — Indiana recently reached a milestone when it added its 100th problem-solving court, a system Clark and Floyd counties have been leading the way in for nearly a decade. The Indiana Supreme Court released a complete list of the courts in early April, announcing Pulaski County’s newly certified veterans treatment court as the […]
Indiana, which places a greater percentage of its children in the foster care system than almost any other state, must take steps to close educational shortcomings for children in the system, according to a first-of-its-kind report released recently that details a wide achievement gap. Only 64.6 percent of high school seniors who were in foster […]
As established by Judicial Conference of Indiana per I.C. 11-13-1-8, the 2020 schedule has been posted. See more information or contact Jenny Bauer with questions.
The revocation of a Madison County man’s probation was upheld after the Indiana Court of Appeals found the evidence presented to the trial court of his continued drug activity met the test for reliability. Mark Lee Votra was determined to have violated the terms of his probation on two occasions in early 2018. Elwood Police […]
CLARK COUNTY, Nevada (FOX5) – Detention Alternative for Autistic Youth (DAAY) is the only court of its kind in the nation with the goal to help those on the autism spectrum get out of the juvenile system. DAAY’s goal is to keep those kids from becoming adult offenders. “Most of youth that we see have […]
Probation Officer Donald Knepple was shot and killed after being ambushed by a man at a counseling center on South Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne. The suspect, a former juvenile corrections officer who had been convicted of attempted child molestation, had arranged a meeting with his counselor and Probation Officer Knepple with the intent of […]
This is the 106th year of the drug war since the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act in 1914. It’s fair to say that we’re still losing. Our losses, both in human life and financial costs, are so staggering that they are incomprehensible. To many, it looks like we’ve stopped fighting to win. The […]
Police also said they found 50,000 vape cartridges in the cargo storage area of the truck Two men are facing felony charges after being found with $3.5 million worth of marijuana and THC-filled vape cartridges during a traffic stop last week in central Indiana. Danny J. Luttrell II and Brandon M. Pierson, both 27, were […]
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Supreme Court is hearing the case of a woman who refused to unlock her cellphone for police in a stalking investigation. Attorneys in the case say the court’s decision could undermine privacy interests and constitutional rights, or public safety and law enforcement. The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month […]
‘Active-shooter’ trainings are becoming a remarkable new normal. An active-shooter training in Indiana took a gruesome turn earlier this year when sheriff’s deputies shot elementary school teachers in the back with plastic pellets, mock-execution style. The teachers union detailed the incident this week, highlighting the extreme and potentially ineffective measures many schools have undertaken to avert […]
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to the 1988 beating death of a pregnant mother in South Bend, Indiana, has died in jail. The St. Joseph County prosecutor’s office says 78-year-old George Kearney was found unresponsive Saturday night in the county jail’s medical unit. He was pronounced dead early Sunday. Authorities […]
Lake County has sued Indiana in a long-running dispute about who is responsible for defending probation officers accused of wrongdoing in their official capacity. Filed late March in Porter County Superior Court, the lawsuit names the state of Indiana, the office of the Indiana attorney general and the Lake County Probation Department as defendants. It […]
Your local perspective on violence in schools reflects a global concern. When you think about violence in schools, what immediately comes to mind? Maybe you remember an incident of bullying that you or a child you know has experienced, or a school shooting that has devastated a local community. These are certainly two significant kinds […]
What does it mean to listen? Is it the passive process of taking in sound waves? What about absorbing the context of words and the feelings behind them? Listening has layers of meaning that stretch beyond the inert and into the active. Working at the Crisis Prevention Institute, I often hear the term “Empathic Listening.” […]
Drug court, it pays off. An Indiana University School of Social Work professor’s evaluation of Monroe County’s 20-year-old Drug Treatment Court found that participants are much less likely to commit other crimes than drug offenders who do not participate in drug court. While 54 percent of non-drug court participants got arrested again, just 18 percent […]
Probation officers seek safety; sheriff fears introducing firearms into equation Officials within the Howard County Community Corrections Advisory Board are debating allowing those who make home visits to citizens on probation or in-home detention to carry firearms, and the prospect drew mixed opinions. The discussion of whether to allow probation officers and field officers within […]
The jittery, delusional potheads of the old movie “Reefer Madness” have prompted eye rolls and chuckles over the years, but a new study argues that the cult classic might contain a kernel of truth. Smoking pot every day could increase your risk of a psychotic break with reality, particularly if you have access to high-potency […]
Young adults born after 1995 are experiencing more mental health issues. Researchers point to lack of sleep and the rise of social media. Mental health issues have risen significantly over the last decade and the rise of digital media may be one reason why, according to a national survey released Thursday. The research, published by […]
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – One of Kentucky’s Probation and Parole offices in Louisville was shut down after an officer came in contact with fentanyl, WAVE 3 News has learned. According to the Department of Corrections, the suspect, Wade Carr, was reporting to the District 18 Probation and Parole Office on Stephen Drive off Dixie Highway […]
WEST ORANGE, N.J., March 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — As the addiction epidemic continues to spread, it is ensnaring more women. 19.5 million women over age 18 (15.4%) used illicit drugs in the past year; 8.4 million misused prescription drugs; and, the growth rate of addiction to heroin for women has outpaced that of men since 2003. Dr. Indra Cidambi, […]
An inmate ordered to serve the reminder of his sentence after violating his probation lost his argument against several probation officers involved in his case when the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the officers were protected under quasi-judicial immunity. After Randy Thornton pled guilty to Class C felony possession of cocaine, he was ordered to […]
Related Article: POPAI Submits an Amicus Curiae Brief with Court of Appeals Holding that probation officers as court employees are entitled to cash payouts of unused paid time off at the time of their separation of employment, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a judgment in favor of a former Hendricks County probation officer. The […]
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Stranded and in need of life saving support – imagine wanting to get addiction help, but simply not having a ride to get there. That’s one of the biggest challenges Hoosiers with addiction face. A new program is hoping to change that. Indiana 211 is now a green light to vital care. […]
The Noble County woman was using drugs – “pretty much anything,” but mostly meth. It was 2009, she’d just had a daughter, and another baby, a boy, was on the way. The Indiana Department of Child Services took custody of her son before she could leave the hospital with him. “That’s how bad it was,” […]
Hendricks County – Wednesday, March 13, at 11:33 a.m., an Indiana State Trooper stopped a vehicle on Interstate 70 eastbound, near the 66 mile marker, for a traffic violation of following too closely. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Danny J. Luttrell II, 27, Indianapolis, Indiana, and a passenger in the vehicle was identified […]
Kristen Banschbach, Director of Community Corrections
(Website Administrator’s note: Board Members received the following email this week and I am publishing it here for your information. Karen) The Indiana Department of Correction has received many challenges with the current timeline of the grants. We have analyzed the concerns and will begin a grant cycle based on a calendar year beginning in […]
I posted an article with a list of books recently and Members responded with some more. I thought you’d be interested in them. Never Split the Difference, Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It Amazon Summary Check your local library. I found physical, electronic, and audio versions through Monroe County. “Although not about probation officers, […]
On Saturday for the first time in its roughly two-year history, e-cigarette company Juul shared some limited data from a clinical trial with the press. In general, that kind of research is considered a key way to protect public health by ensuring a product does not cause undo harm. As a startup, Juul developed a […]
A loving wife and mother of three young children. A woman with a strong faith in God. A woman who strived to be fair to everyone. A woman who left a legacy of love and courage. A woman who was a rising star in the community. Those are just some of the ways colleagues are […]
(POPAI Website Administrator’s note: based on the Amazon summary and reviews I’m not all for #2 but the rest are worth checking out. Update: I’ve started to hear from members with more titles you might enjoy. I’ll add as I hear more. ~ Karen) To be a good officer, you need street smarts; to be […]
Opioid abuse in the U.S. is a crisis, so much so that President Trump declared the epidemic to be a public health emergency under federal law in October 2017 and signed bipartisan legislation to address the issue in October 2018. Dr. Raeford Brown, a pediatric anesthesia specialist at the UK Kentucky Children’s Hospital and chair […]
The POPAI Membership Year runs from January through December. If you haven’t had the opportunity to renew your membership you may do so in several ways. Online Individuals Corporate Members By mail Download and print the Application then mail a check to Probation Officers Professional Association of Indiana, Inc. P.O. Box 44148 Indianapolis, IN 46244 […]
La PORTE – For the second consecutive year, La Porte County has ranked among the top six Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) counties in the state. And for consistently exceeding JDAI standards, La Porte Circuit Court has been awarded $49,000 in performance grant funds, up from the $38,000 it was awarded in 2018. “It’s been […]
NIJ is committed to realizing the full potential of artificial intelligence to promote public safety and reduce crime. “Intelligent machines” have long been the subject of science fiction. However, we now live in an era in which artificial intelligence (Al) is a reality, and it is having very real and deep impacts on our daily […]
Hon. Vicki Carmichael | Judge, Clark Circuit Court #4 and Hon. Charles F. Pratt | Judge, Allen Superior Court
A Cultural Shift Historically, two distinct and separate paths were followed in the provision of services to children who came to the attention of the juvenile justice system. The selected path was generally not determined as a result of an assessment of the totality of the child’s circumstances and needs. Rather, the path was determined […]
An agreement reached in federal court in February will allow Indiana Medicaid recipients infected with Hepatitis C to receive direct-acting antiviral medications, or DAAs, sooner rather than having to wait until the disease has significantly damaged their livers. An order signed Feb. 12 by Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker of the U.S. District Court for […]
We’d be happy to officially “Like” our Member Department and Corporate Member Facebook Pages. Our Facebook Page is at https://www.facebook.com/POPAIProbationIndiana/ Help me locate and like your page by sending your Facebook Page link to me through Facebook Message on our page. I need to let you know I am going to be checking to make […]
It’s a Friday night and roommates Jason Jones and Tamiko Panzella are hanging out in the Oakland, Calif., apartment they share, laughing about an epic gym workout misfire. “I get there and we have to take our shoes and socks off. And I’m like, oh no, she got me into yoga. She tricked me,” Jones […]
Permitting pot is one thing; promoting its use is another. A few years ago, the National Academy of Medicine convened a panel of sixteen leading medical experts to analyze the scientific literature on cannabis. The report they prepared, which came out in January of 2017, runs to four hundred and sixty-eight pages. It contains no […]
The reason drugs are killing more Americans every year has to do with the social toxins in our communities. As opioid deaths surge nationwide, the overdose crisis that claims so many young lives every day has spiraled into a public health emergency. But the epidemic started long before your teenage neighbor took his last hit […]
ndiana’s chief justice and the most senior jurist on the Indiana Supreme Court published a sharp dissent Tuesday from a 3-2 ruling that could pave the way for defendants to be sentenced via video. Chief Justice Loretta Rush and Justice Steven David argued in the minority that defendants have a constitutional right to be physically […]
For the first time on record the odds of accidentally dying from an opioid overdose in the United States are now greater than those of dying in an automobile accident. The grim finding comes from the National Safety Council which analyzed preventable injury and fatality statistics from 2017. The NSC also found the lifetime odds […]
An attorney in northeastern Indiana has been suspended from the practice of law after she was criminally charged. The lawyer has been accused of signing a judge’s name to a phony order in a divorce case and sending emails to an expungement client’s widow posing as a deputy prosecutor. Jill N. Holtzclaw of Decatur was […]
According to the US Department of Justice, 856,130 juveniles were arrested across the country during 2016, 45,567 of which were held in 1,772 juvenile facilities. Of those 45,567 juveniles, an average of fifteen to eighteen percent identified as LGBTQ–that’s twice the rate at which LGBTQ are represented within the general US population. In a recent […]
A juvenile probation officer has been named as the county’s chief probation officer. Angela C. Morris has been appointed chief probation officer for the Johnson County courts. She will supervise both adult and juvenile probation divisions. She starts her new job Jan. 26. Morris replaces Suzanne Miller, who is retiring after serving in the role […]
Over the past three years the Recovery Works team has had the opportunity to serve over 35,000 unique individuals across the State of Indiana. Read more in this downloadable PDF: Recovery Works Update for Criminal Justice Partners.
A new and free science-based curriculum designed to teach adolescents about the risks of opioids has been released by Project ALERT, a national evidence-based drug education program created and managed by the nonprofit RAND Corporation. The curriculum is available for download from the Project ALERT website at http://www.projectalert.com. The opioid risk curriculum is part of […]
By Katharine Q. Seelye, Julie Turkewitz, Jack Healy and Alan Blinder
Amid an opioid crisis, police and strangers with cameras are posting raw images of drug users passed out. For those whose bleakest moments now live online, life is never the same. The first time Kelmae Hemphill watched herself overdose, she sobbed. There she was in a shaky video filmed by her own heroin dealer, sprawled […]
Jail Expansion as Prison Reform in Indiana During the 2016 presidential race, Governor Mike Pence said: “We need to adopt criminal justice reform nationally. I signed criminal justice reform in the state of Indiana, and we are very proud of it.” He was referring to House Bill 1006, which he signed on May 5, 2015 […]
A bipartisan bill aimed at overhauling federal prisons and reducing recidivism has been overwhelmingly approved by Congress. The legislation is now on the verge of becoming law, with the House’s approval on Thursday, the Senate’s passage on Tuesday and the backing of President Trump. Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan previously voiced support for […]
Vaping among America’s teenagers continues to climb, while the use of other substances — such as alcohol and opioids — has declined in recent years, according to a new report. Monday’s report, called Monitoring the Future, comes from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research and is based on an annual survey of drug […]
Knox County in southwestern Indiana has landed a $500,000 federal grant that will allow officials to nearly double the county’s drug court. The courts in Vincennes will use the Justice Department funding to hire another full-time case worker, buy portable breathalyzer machines and make other improvements to expand the drug court over the next four […]
Christmas is just around the corner, meaning a few days of merriment and over-indulgence for many people. For others, though, it’s a tough time of year. People struggling with addiction, for example, can face a number of hurdles, according to the American Addiction Centers’ chief medical officer Lawrence Weinstein. “The holidays can be a challenging […]
MOUNT CARBON, Pa. (AP) — Janel Firestone found her son — the 24-year-old, just resigned mayor of the tiny Pennsylvania town of Mount Carbon — in what she assumed was a deep sleep. She tried to wake him for his overnight shift at the local supermarket, but he couldn’t be roused, even after she sprinkled […]
As the nation struggled with the rising number of opioid deaths, a private drug company increased the price of an overdose antidote more than 600 percent, a Senate subcommittee says in a new report. The increase has cost the federal Medicare and Medicaid health programs more than $142 million since 2014, according the Homeland Security […]
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A new website is available to provide legal resources to Indiana residents of limited financial means and help them with civil matters including family, housing, employment, and educational services. The website, indianalegalhelp.org , provides contact information for legal service providers in each county, questions to ask when hiring a lawyer and a […]
The number of people hospitalized because of amphetamine use is skyrocketing in the United States, but the resurgence of the drug largely has been overshadowed by the nation’s intense focus on opioids. Amphetamine-related hospitalizations jumped by about 245% from 2008 to 2015, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. […]
Overview The number of people with opioid use disorder (OUD)—which is marked by a dependence on opioids, including prescription pain relievers and illicit drugs such as heroin—far exceeds the treatment capacity across the country. In 2017, more than 450,000 individuals with OUD were unable to access treatment. Increasingly, states and local communities are implementing models […]
The overdose-reversing drug naloxone saves thousands of lives each year and is more widely available today than ever. So why do overdose deaths across the U.S. continue to rise? According to one 2018 study, naloxone itself is partly to blame. Naloxone, the authors of the study wrote, increases opioid use and does not reduce opioid-related […]
Christie Thompson and Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge | The Marshall Project
Inside federal prisons’ dangerous failure to treat inmates with mental-health disorders The voices in John Rudd’s head were getting louder. It was April 2017, and Rudd, an inmate at a federal prison near Hazelton, W.Va., had stopped taking his psychiatric medication. He told staff members that he wanted to hang himself, so they moved him […]
Summary: A new mouse study reveals exercise may help curb drug addiction and buffer against relapse by altering the production of peptides in the brain. The siren call of addictive drugs can be hard to resist, and returning to the environment where drugs were previously taken can make resistance that much harder. However, addicts who […]
A newly-created position at the Monroe County Correctional Center will serve as a gofer between inmates inside the jail and family members on the outside. Need help setting up an account for the jail’s video visitation system? Need an inmate’s signature on legal paperwork? Need assistance working the computer kiosk inside the jail’s lobby? Have […]
(Slide Show) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes data about drug overdose mortality rates in every state, annually. Here is a look at the states ranked by overdose-related death rates for 2016, the most recent year available. Synopsis of Slides: (see original article for all) #50: The overdose death rate in Nebraska is […]
Trial Court Technology is distributing $271,000 in scanners to probation departments across the state to facilitate e-filing. Contact Mary DePrez with questions.
Bioengineer, Credit: Medical University of South Carolina
When patients with dependence on alcohol, cocaine or nicotine are shown drug cues, or images related to the substance, an area of their brain known as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) shows increased activity, report investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in an article published online September 7, 2018 in Translational Psychiatry. […]
It’s not because teens are consuming weed more, it’s because they’re using tobacco and alcohol less Teens used to try alcohol first, then tobacco, and then marijuana. Now, marijuana is increasingly the first “gateway” substance for adolescents, according to new research. This trend is not because teens are smoking cannabis more than ever. Rather, the […]
From Virginia to Alaska, methamphetamine use is surging — and it’s hitting in many places still reeling from the opioid crisis In the shadows of the nationwide opioid crisis, another threat looms. Methamphetamine use is on the rise in small rural pockets of the country, from Oklahoma and Virginia, to Kentucky and Florida, and, as […]
With college costs rising and a shortage of skilled trade workers, trade school offers students an alternate path to a promising career. In a world where college costs are rising and student loans can be stifling, high school students and their parents are increasingly looking for alternatives to expensive four-year college programs. One alternative that […]
Recent analyses show that people in the construction industry are six times more likely to die of an opioid overdose than other workers. Construction workers are dying from opioid overdoses across the country, both because they are often forced to work hard jobs through the pain of injuries in order to provide for their families—and […]
Substance use comes with cognitive repercussions. While the recreational use of marijuana is an increasingly a legalized activity, the exact science of what the drug does to the brain isn’t yet conclusive. In an effort to understand what happens to the brain right from the start of smoking, scientists recently studied the substance use of nearly […]
The FDA announced on Friday that it would side with its advisory panel by approving a new opioid drug, called Dsuvia, despite the country already being in the midst of an opioid crisis and critics voicing concerns about the safety of the drug. FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb defended the FDA’s decision to approve the […]
What factors fueled the growing opioid crisis that exists in the US right now? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Beth Macy, Bestselling author (Dopesick, Factory Man, Truevine), on Quora: Rapacious overselling of painkillers, pushed under the […]
On Election Day, Ohioans will vote on a ballot initiative designed to help decriminalize nonviolent drug use and to divert millions of taxpayer dollars — currently spent pursuing an outdated and failed war on drugs — into drug treatment programs. By challenging perceptions of drug users, Issue 1 upends racist assumptions the nation has accepted […]
INDIANAPOLIS — Jennifer Fleming was convicted of dealing drugs in 2012, but when she gets out of prison next year, she is hoping for a job in computer coding. “Technology is definitely going to be a steppingstone in keeping myself stable,” said Ms. Fleming, who is one of eight women in a pilot program at […]
Following hundreds of lawsuits over the years against pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma, Colorado’s attorney general is suing the OxyContin creator for its “significant role in causing the opioid epidemic.” The lawsuit claims Purdue Pharma L.P. and Purdue Pharma Inc. deluded doctors and patients in Colorado about the potential for addiction with prescription opioids and continued […]
At first glance, faith and law may not seem to mix. Faith, on one hand, requires one to be gentle and forgiving. Law, on the other, requires strength and firmness. Yet both deal heavily in questions of morality — in deciding what is right and wrong. Judge Marc Kellams, 69, has explored that mix of […]
Marijuana advocates were overjoyed this week when Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner legalized medical cannabis as a substitute for prescription painkillers. The Marijuana Policy Project called it a “big win” for patients, and officials say it will greatly expand the number of patients, possibly saving lives. But the new state law raises the question: How effective […]
Rhode Island inmates get opioid replacements while they’re locked up and it seems to be keeping them from overdosing when they get out. CRANSTON, R.I. — By the time police caught Paul Roussell with heroin last summer, the 58-year-old lobster fisherman had been addicted to the drug for almost 10 years. He’d gone from sniffing […]
Proposed site on Ewing Lane still to pass planning commission, council JEFFERSONVILLE — Over the past two and a half years, one Southern Indiana woman has found a way out of a bad situation and now can look ahead at a new life, through the help of a permanent supportive housing program through LifeSpring Health […]
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Federal authorities’ shift away from separating immigrant families caught in the U.S. illegally now means that many parents and children are quickly released, only to be fitted with electronic monitoring devices — a practice which both the government and advocacy groups oppose for different reasons. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement […]
“Make no mistake, no matter who you are or what you look like: Maddie’s bell tolls for someone close to you, and maybe someone you love.” “Gut wrenching.” “Heartbreaking.” “A beautiful tribute.” Those are just a few of the words being used on social media to describe the obituary for Madelyn Linsenmeir, whose family wrote […]
INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse has launched an interactive, online naloxone administration heat map that provides insight into the location of incidents where naloxone was administered and reported by emergency medical services providers. Also known by the brand name Narcan®, naloxone blocks the effects of an opioid overdose and can save the life […]
A revolutionary fingerprint scanner can deliver drug test results within minutes with up to 99 per cent accuracy. That’s the finding of a new study that looked at the performance of the Reader 1000 compared to existing urine and blood tests. The device accurately tests for the four main groups of drugs most commonly abused […]
He may be the one wearing the robe, but the rapport Monroe Circuit Judge Kenneth Todd shares with defendants lacks the rigidity commonly found in court hearings. Instead, as defendants approach the bench, there is a sense of familiarity between him and those whose future he holds in his hands. “How long have you and […]
Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill eliminating cash bail in the state Tuesday Maryland virtually eliminated cash bail in 2017, but proponents of a reworked justice system are not happy with the results Several states and cities are moving toward reducing or ending cash bail California became the first state to end the […]
Driven in part by family tragedy, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has repeatedly pledged to open what could be the first supervised drug injection site in the country. However, California Gov. Jerry Brown made the promise tougher to keep when he vetoed legislation over the weekend that would have given San Francisco some legal cover […]
Doctors are prescribing benzodiazepines, like Xanax and Ativan, at skyrocketing rates. But most don’t know about their debilitating, even deadly, effects. Video: When Christy Huff developed a painful eye problem that led to insomnia, her doctor had a common solution— Xanax. She took the medication as directed. One pill at night offered her some […]
The Senate on Monday passed a bipartisan, multipronged package of 70 bills aimed at curbing the opioid epidemic, but Congress still has work to do to reach the finish line. The package, which passed 99-1 and focuses on prevention and treatment, includes a provision President Trump endorsed on Twitter last month. It marks the most […]
The Trump administration has awarded Indiana more than $25 million to fight the opioid epidemic, largely by expanding access to treatment and recovery services. Indiana’s funding announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was among more than $1 billion awarded to all 50 states to combat opioid abuse. Indiana is getting […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it is ready to hire an additional 50 Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) specialists following President Trump’s signing today of the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act of 2018, a new law shoring up support services to Veterans impacted by the justice system. The law requires […]
(See original article for a video) The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released preliminary overdose estimates for 2017. Although a few states offer some encouraging examples of progress, the estimates — or even just one, the record 72,000 overdose deaths — offer a troubling look at how the United States is still struggling to […]
In 2010, more than 4 million adults in the United States were under probation supervision, according to estimates from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Increasingly, the role of probation officers—the correctional professionals who supervise these individuals—has shifted from monitoring offender compliance with court orders to helping people change their behavior. This more inThis is a […]
Society for Human Resource Management and the Charles Koch Institute
5/17/2018
A Survey by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Charles Koch Institute The number of Americans with a criminal history is on the rise, and nearly one-third of the adult working-age population has a record. A new nationwide study commissioned by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Charles Koch Institute […]
The United States Probation Office for the Southern District of Indiana has been dedicated to the memory of U.S. Probation Officer Thomas E. Gahl, who was the first U.S. Probation Officer killed in the line of duty by a parolee. Tom was killed on September 22, 1986, by Michael Wayne Jackson, who had a life-long […]
The Founder’s Award is a way of recognizing individuals who have significantly contributed to the field of probation in general and specifically to the POPAI organization. The recipient need not be a Probation Officer or POPAI member. The selected person however, shall be characterized by his/her commitment of influence and promotion of professionalism to Indiana […]
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – – The Food and Drug Administration made national headlines when it declared that teen vaping is an epidemic. The agency threatened to stop the sale of flavored e-cigarettes if the manufacturers cannot prove they are doing enough to keep them out of the hands of teens. JUUL and at least […]
Declining user fee revenues continue to be a budgeting concern for probation and community corrections officials. Two probation officer positions previously supported by the court, alcohol and drug fees fund were moved to the county general fund on Tuesday, the first day of the 2019 county council budget work sessions. Chief Probation Officer Linda Brady […]
Around 25 years ago, Ty Hookway, founder of the upstate New York-based janitorial services company CleanCraft, was driving past one of their client’s houses when he noticed one of his workers’ cars parked in front. It was late–around 11 p.m.–so Hookway stopped to check in and see if everything was okay. Inside, he saw Sanford […]
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, 116 people die from opioid-related overdoses every day. These numbers reached record highs in 2016, prompting President Trump to temporarily declare a state of emergency in late 2017, but new opioid overdose statistics analyzed by Salon show the crisis could actually be getting worse. Data […]
Richard King suffers from bipolar disorder. A pastor and Vietnam veteran from Fort Smith, Ark., Richard has undergone treatment for his mental illness for years. But when a stomach illness prevented him from taking his prescribed medication, he found himself on March 11 experiencing a mental health crisis that led to his arrest on a […]
There are real concerns with marijuana addiction. That doesn’t mean legalization is a bad idea. It is now widely accepted that marijuana is, at the very least, less dangerous than other recreational drugs. The typical line you’ll hear — I certainly do in my email inbox — is that “marijuana is harmless,” often meant as […]
Criminal defendants who don’t show up for a court hearing may find themselves in a bad place — jail — if a judge orders them arrested for failure to appear. This happens all the time. It can be a life-altering event for the person who gets arrested, who is held without bond, sometimes for days, […]
OAKLAND, Calif. — Every year, thousands of people addicted to opioids show up at hospital emergency rooms in withdrawal so agonizing it leaves them moaning and writhing on the floor. Usually, they’re given medicines that help with vomiting or diarrhea and sent on their way, maybe with a few numbers to call about treatment. When […]
The House is touting passage of dozens of bills that could help combat the national opioid crisis — but a small handful of companies that have spent millions lobbying Congress could reap a windfall if any of the bills become law. In a two-week legislative blitz, the House cleared several narrowly tailored measures that would […]
Linda Brady, Probation Representative to State EBDM Policy Team
The state Evidence Based Decision Making (EBDM) Policy Team met on August 17, 2018. Agenda and Work Group Reports: State EBDM Team Agenda 8-17-2018 Pretrial Work Group Report 8-17-2018 Behavior Responses Group Report 8-17-2018 Professional Development Work Group Report 8-14-2018 Data Work Group Report 8-14-2018 The next State Team meeting will be October 5, 2018, […]
The 18th Annual Judge David’s Community In-Service is on Wednesday, October 3, 2018. This year’s theme is: “Keeping Our Kids in Safe Waters: How to Navigate the Depths of Mental Health Challenges and Suicide Prevention”. Attendees will hear a powerful Keynote presentation from Kevin Hines. In September 2000, Kevin leapt off the Golden Gate Bridge, […]
Nationally-acclaimed photographer, Richard Ross, brings his work “Juvenile In Justice” to Bloomington for the month of April. His photos show the treatment and containment of children in detention centers and have been featured by CNN, NPR, TIME Magazine, 60 Minutes, The Washington Post and more. The artist visited Bloomington for two days and held events, […]
The Vigo County Veterans Court has been recognized and is being awarded a federal grant. VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) — The Vigo County veterans court was started about three years ago by Judge John Roach. Since it started it’s helped almost 30 veterans get out of the system and get their lives back on track. […]
For almost 35 years, the county’s road crew program has served as an alternative to jail time. However, for financial reasons, Monroe County judges decided to discontinue the program. The last day of the program was Saturday. Eight individuals participated. “We are disappointed that we have to cease with road crew, but we have to […]
A car inspection on I-70 led to the discovery of $1 million worth of marijuana hidden in fresh lettuce, Indiana State Police said Wednesday. A tractor-trailer traveling eastbound was stopped near the 41 mile marker around 7:30 a.m. in Putnam County for a routine inspection, State Police said in a news release. A search of […]
“Dr. Earl gave us treasures and nuggets that we have immediately implemented, with respect to diversity recruitment and retention, and leadership development.” — Alfred Dowe, Asst. Director of Recruitment and Community Outreach University of Arkansas Graduate School and International Education “Many, many thanks for your refreshing insights and positive approaches to coping with change during […]
The following candidates are slated for the 2018 POPAI Fall Election: President: Adam McQueen Secretary: Cherie Wood District 2: Cheryl Bartnick Ryan Hull Heather Malone District 4: Lakisha Fisher District 6: Andria Geigle District 8: Mignon Ware Article XII ELECTIONS E. Voting The President of the Association shall open the annual meeting of the Association […]
Stakeholders discuss ways to curb addiction Police, health care providers and others at the center of the local opioid problem will soon receive a map for helping tackle drug abuse. After months of gathering input, Montgomery United Fund For You’s United Against Opioid Abuse Project is completing a report that seeks to gauge the extent […]
INDIANAPOLIS — The Hoosier State is at the center of America’s opioid drug abuse epidemic, so it’s up to Hoosiers to figure out how best to combat the scourge and prepare for the next one. That motivation drew nearly 1,000 judicial, law enforcement, public health and community leaders from all 92 counties to the Indiana […]
INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of criminal justice professionals tasted the cruel reality of the state’s opioid crisis when Marion Superior Court Judge William Nelson played a chilling 911 call from a mother who had just found her 20-year-old son dead from an overdose. The 90-second recording of the despondent and sobbing woman filled the ballroom at […]
In Dallas County, Texas, the main outlet of psychiatric care for those with mental illness is no longer the corrections system. A five-year initiative aimed at bridging the gap between the legal and medical communities is successfully diverting justice-involved mentally ill individuals to effective treatment programs. The key to the program is technology. The initiative […]
Court Times. Compiled By: Amanda R. Wishin | Research Attorney, Indiana Office of Court Services
New immunities Community corrections officers and probation officers who administer an overdose intervention drug. S.E.A. 13, P.L. 4. A guardian ad litem program and court appointed special advocate program when a child is placed on a waiting list for guardian ad litem or court appointed special advocate services. S.E.A. 135, P.L. 120. Fire department that […]
Community Solutions: United to Combat the Opioid Epidemic Register for the 2018 Public Safety + Public Health Opioid Conference being held on Tuesday, August 14th at 502 East Event Centre in Carmel, IN. Cost: $25 Objective The goal of this conference is to showcase how Public Safety and Public Health are strategic partners in the […]
Nominations are being accepted until August 6, 2018 for three awards presented during our Fall Conference in French Lick. The Founder’s Award is a way of recognizing individuals who have significantly contributed to the field of probation in general, and specifically to the POPAI organization. The recipient need not be a Probation Officer or POPAI […]
Jane Seigel | Interim Chief Administrative Officer, Office of Judicial Administration and Jenny Bauer | Staff Attorney, Indiana Office of Court Services
Adult and Juvenile Interstate Compacts How many times has an out-of-state offender appeared in your courtroom for sentencing? Do you know what to do if the out-of-state offender is to be sentenced for a felony? Consider the following example: an offender from Illinois appears in your Court for sentencing on a felony Operating a Vehicle […]
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana lawmakers entered this year’s session with limited ambitions when compared to years past. They still passed dozens of new laws. And while many of the most attention grabbing ideas — like legal Sunday retail alcohol sales — were already made the law of the land, more are set to take effect […]
The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) recognizes the nearly 100,000-strong members of the community corrections/supervision workforce for your dedication to and influence on the justice system. Each year during Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week (PPPS Week), we make an extra effort to acknowledge your compassion, strength, and determination. You make a difference, even […]
KNOX, Ind. — After receiving board approval at the end of June, Starke County Community Corrections is merging with the probation department. The director of the new Court Services department says the move should reduce caseloads while saving the county big bucks. The director says putting only one person in charge (instead of one leader […]
INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) – City and neighborhood leaders took part in the ceremonial groundbreaking for Marion County’s new Community Justice Campus Thursday morning. The $571 million project is going to be built on at the site of the former Citizens Energy coke plant on the southeast side of Indianapolis. The campus will house a 3,000-bed jail, […]
How to find help If you or anyone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or the Crisis Text Line by texting 741-741. JEFFERSONVILLE — A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published last Thursday revealed that suicide rates have risen in almost every […]
Nominations are being accepted until August 6, 2018 for three awards presented during our Fall Conference in French Lick. The Founder’s Award is a way of recognizing individuals who have significantly contributed to the field of probation in general, and specifically to the POPAI organization. The recipient need not be a Probation Officer or POPAI […]
International Association of Correctional Training Personnel
The International Association of Correctional Training Personnel (IACTP) is a criminal justice association that includes members of the training professions from national, state and local corrections agencies, community corrections, juvenile justice, higher education, academies and commissions, and private corrections. We expect attendance to be from 75-150 participants, with approximately 15-30 participants per workshop. The smaller […]
The conference will be returning this year to French Lick Springs Resort on September 5, 6, and 7, 2018 Find information for: Attendees Vendors The 2018 POPAI Fall Conference will be returning to the French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana, The fantastic hotel and conference facility provides the perfect setting for probation professionals to […]
There’s a significant need for transitional housing in Montgomery County for certain individuals in the criminal justice system. Montgomery Superior Court I Judge Heather Barajas and Chief Probation Officer Andria Geigle addressed county commissioners at the start of Monday’s meeting about the possibility of making such housing available here. “One of the biggest problems we […]
KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) — The family of a central Indiana couple who died after a repeat drunk driver struck them in Seattle has settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the West Coast city for $13 million. The family of Dennis and Judy Schulte settled the lawsuit with Seattle in April after an appeals court denied […]
Every year, it’s estimated that 650,000 offenders are released from the nation’s prisons, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. However, national recidivism rates remain high, with some studies finding that two-thirds of inmates are re-arrested. Upon release, many ex-prisoners are supervised by probation and parole officers (POs) who have an opportunity to help offenders make positive […]
Dearborn County, Ind. — More than three dozen registered sex offenders in Dearborn County got a rude awakening as officers began knocking on doors not long after sunrise Tuesday. “We want to make sure, number one, that they’re following the rules, but two, that they’re not committing new offenses,” said Dearborn County Probation Officer Karrisa […]
A family drug court in southern Indiana has received a $2.1 million federal grant to expand its services, which could help reunite an estimated 175 families over the next five years. Judge Vicki Carmichael has run the Clark County Family Treatment Drug Court for seven years with only one county-paid employee, but the new five-year […]
POPAI provides a scholarship every year in memory of Probation Officer Donald “Charley” Knepple. Charley lost his life on April 28, 1997, while performing his probation officer duties in Allen County, Indiana. In an effort to honor an outstanding professional and to promote further professionalism, POPAI selected a scholarship that would encourage continued education and […]
“With my new lease on life, I still remember the one I took.” Soon, I will walk out of prison for the first time in 27 years. I’ve been preparing for this day for so long, I know exactly how it’ll go: My wife will pick me up at the gates of Sing Sing, and […]
by Dionne Barnes-Proby, Priscillia Hunt, Lisa Jonsson, Samantha Cherney
by Dionne Barnes-Proby, Priscillia Hunt, Lisa Jonsson, Samantha Cherney
This report is one component of a larger RAND project aimed at addressing income inequalities faced by workers with criminal records. Given the labor market challenges faced by people with criminal convictions, it can be challenging for probation agencies to help their clients find jobs, let alone earn living wages. This report summarizes findings from […]
View original article for video featuring Sullivan County CPO Barb Lance. Opioids are fueling a drug abuse crisis. The pills, aimed a treating pain, kill roughly two people everyday in Indiana. In fact, the latest figures show 66 percent of all drug overdose deaths in the United States are caused by opioids. The staggering problem […]
LINDEN, N.C. — Two men were arrested after more than $90 million worth of liquid methamphetamine was found in a semi-truck in North Carolina. WTVD reported that the truck was being driven by 49-year-old Raul Topete Arreola and 48-year-old Aquileo Perez Pineda. Each has been charged with three counts of trafficking meth. There was a […]
Baby Roman is just waking up from his afternoon nap and now he’s looking for a toy. His grandfather, Frank McCarrell, is trying to distract him from the house’s décor with a bottle of milk. “He don’t usually be asleep this time,” said McCarrell, who just finished his workday to babysit for his daughter. “When […]
The 2019 Minimum Salary Schedule for Probation Officers is posted to the Indiana Office of Court Service’s website in the probation section (under Salary Materials). https://www.in.gov/judiciary/probation/2343.htm 2019 PO Salary Schedule
Despite working on Indiana public defense reforms for 41 years, there are still goals Larry Landis wishes he could have accomplished before his impending retirement from the Indiana Public Defender Council. In a perfect world, Landis said his career would have led to more judicial sentencing discretion, a greater focus on mental health treatment, and […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. – A new report says reforming probation practices for juveniles could increase their chances for success. In the past 20 years, juvenile justice system reforms have led to far fewer young people being held in juvenile detention centers. But the report from The Annie E. Casey Foundation says little has changed in the […]
A settlement in a federal lawsuit ends a policy that prohibited Allen County Jail inmates from receiving visits from their children, among other agreed changes. Settlement terms of the class action Ronald Ward and Samuel Chinnis v. David Gladieux, in his official capacity as Allen County Sheriff, 1:16-cv-99, end a complaint brought on behalf of […]
HONORABLE KENNETH ROBERT SCHEIBENBERGER, 69, of Fort Wayne, passed away on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. Born on Sunday, Jan. 16, 1949, in Fort Wayne, he was a son of Robert G. Scheibenberger, who survives, and the late Marilyn J. (Rouch) Scheibenberger. He was a lifelong member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. He was a proud […]
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that he was granting conditional pardons to every parolee in the state — 35,000 — to restore their voting rights. Cuomo, facing a primary challenge from the left from actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, made an end-run around the state Legislature, where Republicans had stymied his effort. In […]
In Marin County’s drug court, failure is common and disastrous, while success is measured in relatively modest terms: steady employment, sobriety, abstinence from crime. Michael Fielding took the success concept to a higher level. He got himself admitted to law school on a full scholarship. Fielding, who graduated from the drug court program last week […]
Each county should select a team lead judge to designate team members and complete this nomination form by May 4 to send a judicial officer, prosecutor, public defender, law enforcement officer, probation officer, Department of Child Services representative, and medication assisted treatment provider to the Summit. See this updated flyer for more information. (Flyer updated July […]
Newest Team Members Lauren Moore, Southeast Program Director Lauren began with IDOC in August 2015 as an intern with PEN Industries. After finishing her Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Public Safety at IUPUI in December 2015, she worked as a program director with PEN for 2 years.
Probation Officer Donald Knepple was shot and killed after being ambushed by a man at a counseling center on South Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne. The suspect, a former juvenile corrections officer who had been convicted of attempted child molestation, had arranged a meeting with his counselor and Probation Officer Knepple with the intent of […]
IOCS has developed an Administrative 9 Benchcard that can provide some quick answers to questions about this complicated rule. Contact Jeff Wiese for questions.
Indiana among 18 states to ban it as concerns rise As part of a routine drug test, Adam Randall handed a vial of yellow liquid to a probation officer. Although it looked like a urine sample from the 31-year-old – who was required to submit to testing after a previous conviction – authorities in Queensbury, […]
Though a cooperative effort from entities here in Switzerland County and the area, a program that helps people who are incarcerated get their high school equivalency diplomas. Switzerland County Probation Officer Jeff Theetge says that the county is working in conjunction with River Valley Resources to provide the program. “We have been working with River […]
A Tippecanoe County man convicted of incest with his teenage niece will have one of his probation conditions revisited after the Indiana Supreme Court determined the condition requiring him to get permission to access the internet was not reasonably related to his crime. In Kristopher L. Weida v. State of Indiana, 79S02-1711-CR-687, 34-year-old Kristopher Weida […]
Save the Date Statewide Opioid Seminar on MAT Training will be held on July 25, 2018 at the Indiana Convention Center. Every county should send a multi-disciplinary team. Details in a PDF document.
WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. — Teenagers are indeed different from adults. They think differently. Their emotions drive them differently. They act differently. Therefore, it makes sense to treat them differently than adults. Three Teaching the Teen Brain training sessions this month taught this to Wayne County educators and education administrators. Sponsored by the Wayne County Probation […]
To: Circuit, Superior, and Probate Courts, City and Town Courts, Marion County Small Claims Courts From: Jeffrey S. Wiese, Deputy Director of Legal Support Date: March 14, 2018 New Procedure for Courts with Late Quarterly or Annual Statistical Reports Ind. Administrative Rule 1 and Ind. Administrative Rule 2 require courts and probation departments to file […]
The Justice Services Conference will be held May 9-11, 2018. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Omni Severin Hotel, Indianapolis, IN 46225, at a group rate of $119/night. This conference is open to probation officers and their supervising judge, court alcohol and drug program judges, program directors, program staff and education facilitators […]
Submit your application to be considered for the Donald “Charley” Knepple Scholarship Award. The winner will be announced at the 2018 Annual Indiana Probation Officers Conference in May. The qualified candidate chosen for the Scholarship Award will be awarded $2,500.00 to help pay for their costs in continuing his or her education pursing a Masters […]
I’ve posted the most recent report from The LegisGroup in the Members Only area (log in required). It includes those bills you’ve been watching that remained alive into the second half of the session. With that report, you can see the point in the process at which any now-bills died. Problems logging in? Just email […]
2018 POPAI Management Training includes training for CPOs, Assistant CPOs and supervisory level staff. These trainings are specifically for those who are in supervisory level positions. More details including a link for full information, registration, and easy online payment. Vendors welcome on April 13, more information.
The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law heard HB 1214 sponsored by Sen. Young on CBD oil and industrial hemp. The bill repeals all provisions concerning the cannabidiol registry and a “substance containing cannabidiol” (all added by HEA 1148-2017) and legalizes CBD oil, repeals superseded provisions relating to cannabidiol registration, and establishes that there is sufficient […]
Domestic Violence offenders require a different approach to supervising them. Cunning and often manipulative, they can be among the most challenging of probationers to supervise. Join us March 22, as Sara Mahoney returns to discuss: the tactics/characteristics of a DV Offender and a victim how these characteristics impact the ongoing supervision of the offender, the advantage […]
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa.– Over 96 percent of DUI offenders in Lancaster wearing alcohol-detection devices are avoiding alcohol, according to recently-released data. In 2017, 745 people on bail conditions or probation/parole in Lancaster County wore a SCRAM device under the county’s DUI repeat offender program. Only 25 people violated the conditions by having a drink, according […]
The Indiana Department of Correction has released it’s 2018 schedule. Check out these PDF documents for information: IDOC Community Corrections Division Course Descriptions January – June 2018 IDOC Community Corrections Division Training Calendar For more information or to register, look on SharePoint, contact your Regional Representative or Director Shannon Bowling at sbowling@idoc.in.gov For a bit […]
Judge Reynolds is a district court judge for the 1st District Court Lewis and Clark County Montana. He has been on the bench since 2010. In this position, Judge Reynolds presides over the First Judicial District Treatment Court. Prior to his election as judge, Judge Reynolds was a partner in the Helena law firm of […]
In December, we sent out Department Invoices since so many POPAI Members renew their memberships together. Individuals who aren’t paying with your department and are due for 2018 can either send a check in or use the convenience of paying online with our Membership Application Page and PayPal. Simply click the “Renewal” button, then fill […]
Editor’s note: The illicit drug trade is undergoing a seismic shift, with Utah in the middle of the deadly impact of opioids. This is another in an ongoing series of stories about this modern-day plague. SALT LAKE CITY — In November, when President Trump’s bipartisan commission on the opioid crisis issued its report, it recommended […]
Gov. Eric Holcomb on Friday extended the moratorium on seizures of CBD oil from retailers’ shelves — as well Indiana State Excise Police’s education period on products derived from cannabis — while lawmakers consider bills regulating those products. “I said back in November that I was open to extending the education period on CBD oil […]
GREENFIELD — Area residents packed the county courthouse annex Wednesday to hear from candidates in one of the most hotly contested races this election season. The Hancock County Young Republicans conducted a special forum Wednesday night, inviting the public to hear from the Republican candidates running in May’s primary for sheriff. No Democrats have announced […]
Legislative Update Published by the Indiana Office of Court Services
1/12/2018
Court Services
The Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1034 authored by Rep. Lehman on home detention matters. The bill eliminates the requirement that a period of home detention ordered as a condition of probation must be at least 60 days. Adds to the list of activities that a home detention offender may engage in outside […]
After two years of painstaking investigation, David Schiller and the rest of the Drug Enforcement Administration team he supervised were ready to move on the biggest opioid distribution case in U.S. history. The team, based out of the DEA’s Denver field division, had been examining the operations of the nation’s largest drug company, McKesson Corp. […]
(Article link includes full video) Introduction Governor Holcomb, Lt. Governor Crouch, Members of the General Assembly, State leaders, and Judges, welcome to the 2018 State of the Judiciary. Today I fulfill my constitutional responsibility of reporting on Indiana’s judiciary, which I am pleased to say is renewed, respected, and resolved. In a word, strong. Let’s […]
An Indiana Senate bill filed Friday would allow the state’s riverboats, racinos and their satellite facilities to offer legal sports betting if federal prohibitions are lifted. SB 405, introduced by Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute, follows similar bills or laws in at least 10 other states. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on […]
KOKOMO – Tyler Sparger knows exactly where he would be today if he never beat his addiction – in fact he didn’t even need to wait for the entire question to be asked. “Dead,” was his fast, blunt response. Sparger has been clean since around April 2016, and has a dream of becoming an attorney. […]
Forty-eight people died in Monroe County from accidental heroin and opioid overdoses in the past two and a half years. Thirty-five happened over two years. Sixteen in 2015. Nineteen in 2016. During the first six months of 2017, opioid overdoses claimed the lives of another 13 people in Monroe County. And more have died since. […]
Chief Bodine at Shelby County Probation Department contacted me earlier this week with an interesting unique opportunity. She is looking for someone to manage an active caseload of 50 (with oversight), see appointments, enter information into case management system, work with other agencies to collaborate services, fill out required paperwork (with oversight). Term Dates are […]
Some opioid addicts are turning to an over-the-counter alternative to get high — and it’s probably not one you’d expect. A growing number are taking dangerous doses of Imodium A-D, a widely available gastrointestinal medication, CBS New York reports. According to a report published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, the anti-diarrhea medication has growing […]
FDA OKs appliance that’s made in Indiana GREENWOOD — Since February, Greenwood City Court Judge Lewis Gregory has offered plan through the local probation department in which opiate addicts can choose to wear a NSS-2 Bridge, a hearing aid-sized device that helps fight the pain of withdrawal. The other option is often jail. “The attraction […]
Wanda Ramirez likes to draw faces with hairstyles, no bodies attached. She calls it doodling. Her recovery specialist calls it art. “She’s an artist,” the specialist, Laura Gwinnell, said with a nod. Ms. Ramirez, 51, was uncomfortable with the compliment. She laughed shyly and rolled her eyes. She draws, she said, “when I’m at my […]
A new drug treatment program in the Clark County Jail is unlike any other program in Ohio and is aimed at preventing crime, Springfield leaders said. McKinley Hall expanded its drug treatment program within the Clark County Jail earlier this month to allow for nearly double the number of inmates to participate. Previously, only about […]
National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center
Registration is required to join this event. Register Registration Password: GoGreen Date and time:Thursday, November 16, 2017 1:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00) Panelist(s) Info: Paul M. Sheldon, M.A. Senior Advisor, GreenPrisons.Org Duration:1 hour Description: Over the past decade, the corrections community’s perspective on sustainability-oriented practices has evolved to include tremendous cost savings […]
Pretrial Justice Institute’s CEO, Cherise Fanno Burdeen, has been on tour with all of the pretrial highlights of 2017, and now’s she’s making an appearance in the University of Pretrial. Join Cherise to hear about pretrial policy, legislation, litigation, and highlights from the field. Co-sponsored by the American Probation and Parole Association and the University […]
Page 36: “In 2015, Washington DC, Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee, and Wisconsin all experienced nearly double the number of armed robberies than the previous year. Indiana experienced 168 prescription drug armed robberies in 2015, which made it the only state with more than 100 pharmacy armed robberies in a single year in the last seven years […]
by Joe Russo, George B. Drake, John S. Shaffer, Brian A. Jackson
Ebook Challenged by high costs and concerns that the U.S. corrections sector is not achieving its goals, there has been a growing focus on approaches to reform and improve the sector’s performance. Policies initiated during the tough-on-crime era led to aggressive prosecution, lengthier sentences, and an exploding correctional population. In recent years, the corrections sector […]
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) — Clark County schools have announced a new partnership with local law enforcement agencies and the courts which will allow local probation officers to process on-site arrests using school office space. The probation officers will process arrests made by school resource officers, and determine if the students should be released without condition, […]
(The full article contains some video.) President Trump has declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency, and 21 million Americans are addicted to drugs and alcohol. The cover story of September’s National Geographic looks into the science of addiction and its impact on the brain’s pathways. The article’s author, Fran Smith, writes, “Addiction remolds […]
The Indiana Office of Court Services (IOCS) is excited to announce the First Annual Justice Services Conference to be held on May 9th – 11th, 2018 at the Indiana Convention Center. The conference will include staff from Probation, Court Alcohol and Drug Programs, and Problem-Solving Courts. This combined conference replaces the formerly separate Probation […]
Pat Hummel has serious qualms about the day her son Tyler is released from prison. Understandable when you hear the reason why. He’s a drug addict. Has been since he was in junior high. And despite her and husband Dave’s best efforts — including tough love and tens of thousands of dollars spent on counseling, […]
In southwest Ohio, people die from drug overdoses at more than double the national rate. In the future, whether someone survives could hinge on what county they are in. The sheriff in Butler County this summer declared that his officers wouldn’t carry medication to reverse overdoses. In Middletown, a city of 49,000 that overlaps the […]
Training begins for officer/teenager interactions La PORTE — On Thursday morning, Policing the Teen Brain kicked off at the city of La Porte Police Department. The two day training program is designed to give law enforcement, teachers and others a better understanding of how to work with adolescents. “We’ve been in the process over the […]
Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the Texas Coast on August 25, 2017. The POPAI Board collected $1000 from attendees at the Fall Conference in September, then matched the funds. POPAI President Adam McQueen reached out to the Texas Probation Association to locate a good recipient for funds. Two departments were identified that were hit the […]
CONCORD, N.H. — In the state morgue here, in the industrial maze of a hospital basement, Dr. Thomas A. Andrew was slicing through the lung of a 36-year-old woman when white foam seeped out onto the autopsy table. Foam in the lungs is a sign of acute intoxication caused by an opioid. So is […]
(Note: the article is full of interesting video, if you have a moment and want to dig deeper, follow the link above to the full article.) Pain and pleasure rank among nature’s strongest motivators, but when mixed, the two can become irresistible. This is how opioids brew a potent and deadly addiction in the […]
Failing a drug test, associating with felons and other technical parole violations are among the key drivers of prison’s “revolving door,” according to new UC Berkeley research. The study, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, found that felons who served time behind bars were more likely to return […]
While images of men in white robes and torches might evoke feelings of a bygone era, the White Nationalist movement is alive and well — if you know where to look and what you’re looking for. Join Detective Brent Smith as he shares a rare, “behind the scenes” view of the White Nationalist movement in […]
Most people facing criminal charges in Indiana can await their trials outside of jail – if they have the ability to post bail. Indiana’s Constitution defines bail as monetary, but a state Supreme Court rule will move away from that longstanding practice and allow counties to release some people without requiring a bail payment. The […]
At the dedication of Terre Haute’s new federal courthouse in November 2009, then-Judge Larry McKinney of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana took a swipe at those who said it couldn’t be done. The Southern District lost its presence in western Indiana when its Art Deco style courthouse on Seventh and […]
The 2017 IACCAC Fall Training Institute online registration is now available! This year’s conference theme is “Assessments – Keys to the Kingdom of Offender Change”. The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis located at One South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana on Wednesday, November 15, 2017 through Friday, November 17, 2017 with Intensive […]
CLARK COUNTY — A Clark County judge recently was feted for her work to improve the courts system and to better the community. Circuit Court No. 4 Judge Vicki Carmichael was awarded the two distinctions at the annual Indiana Judicial Conference, attended by around 600 judges, magistrates and senior judges from across the state. The […]
New York City police confiscated almost 200 pounds of the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl last month ? the largest seizure in city history. The cache was enough to kill more than 30 million people from overdoses, police said. On Aug. 1, more than 140 pounds of pure fentanyl and almost 50 pounds of fentanyl-laced heroin, […]
Videos for the Interim Study Committee on Corrections and Criminal Code meetings on September 6 and September 19 are available online. Exhibits from the September 6 meeting include: Presentation by Department of Correction Presentation by Prosecuting Attorneys Council Presentation by Public Defender Council Presentation by Office of Judicial Administration Staff Presentation by Division of Mental […]
Facility to house victims of human trafficking Henry County’s former youth detention center, located atop a hill just west of Ind. 3 in Memorial Park, will soon be back in the business of housing juveniles. However, the facility’s future tenants won’t be there because they ran afoul of the law; rather, it will be because […]
Interim Study Committee on Corrections and Criminal Code
The results of a jail survey recently conducted in cooperation with the Sheriffs’ Association including Abstract of Judgment data was submitted to the Interim Study Committee on Corrections and Criminal Code earlier and provides a snapshot of current jail populations and the impact of Level 6 offenders. Questions, contact Lisa Thompson, Project Manager for Trial Court […]
INDIANAPOLIS – Lawmakers heard Tuesday that efforts to reduce costs at the Indiana Department of Correction and divert offenders to programs such as community corrections and probation haven’t been as successful as hoped. Chris Johnston of KSM Consulting delivered a report to the Interim Study Committee on Corrections and Criminal Code on the reform that […]
The United States Probation Office for the Southern District of Indiana has been dedicated to the memory of U.S. Probation Officer Thomas E. Gahl, who was the first U.S. Probation Officer killed in the line of duty by a parolee. Tom was killed on September 22, 1986, by Michael Wayne Jackson, who had a life-long […]
The case of a Hampden County man locked up for three-and-a-half years awaiting trial because he couldn’t make bail on a charge of armed robbery while masked led to a state high court decision Friday that advocates say will reform a bail system they say punishes poor people. “Our clients who don’t have the money […]
A request to move the funding of a probation officer position to Monroe County’s public safety local income tax fund sparked discussion about spending priorities for those tax dollars, and the overall condition of user fee funds. At a county 2018 budget hearing Monday, Chief Probation Officer Linda Brady told the Monroe County Council her […]
Linda Brady reported that she has been appointed to serve as a lay member of the Interim Study Committee on Corrections and Criminal Code. Senator Mike Young is the Chair, and Representative Tom Washburne is the Vice Chair. Find more information including dates for the committee meetings and study topics in the Members Only Area […]
The Fall Conference Photos are here! We’d like to have more photos here. If you took photos that we can use, please email them to Karen (website.popai@gmx.com).
The “Founder’s Award” is a way of recognizing individuals who have significantly contributed to the field of probation in general and specifically to the POPAI organization. The recipient need not be a Probation Officer or POPAI member. The selected person however, shall be characterized by his/her commitment of influence and promotion of professionalism to Indiana […]
The “Rookie” Probation Officer of the Year Award was established to recognize probation officers who, while at the beginning of their career, show the attitude, aptitude, and the desire to improve themselves and to develop into leaders among their peers. Nominees shall be within their first two (2) years of certification as a probation officer […]
The Line Probation Officer of the Year Award was established to recognize line probation officers who have performed their duties in an outstanding manner and/or made significant contributions to the field of probation at the local, regional or national level. The recipient may also have brought credit or honor to the profession of probation through […]
POPAI extends our sympathy to the family, coworkers, and friends of James Reagan, Intensive Supervisor for Clark County Probation. James Patrick Reagan, 61, lost his battle to cancer at his home on August 29, 2017. James graduated from Providence High School and The University of Louisville. James retired from the Jeffersonville Police Department after 28 […]
2017 POPAI Fall Conference Downloadable Document We are again returning this year to the French Lick Resort. We will be offering a variety of breakout sessions, a few of which are highlighted in the online materials. Our vendors have some special activities planned for us this year including another dinner celebration on Wednesday evening and […]
JEFFERSONVILLE — A practice designed to increase public safety, reduce recidivism and balance inequalities in pretrial judgments is taking shape in Clark County. In the past six months, Clark County has implemented pretrial assessments into two of its four courts — Clark County Circuit Court Nos. 1 and 4, and hired two new staff to […]
JEFFERSONVILLE — A little-used part of Clark County Community Corrections — an inmate diversion program — is slated to close by the end of the year. The Clark County inmate work release program will shutter by Dec. 31, after a contract between Clark County Corrections and the Indiana Department of Corrections to house the inmates […]
POPAI stands with APPA condemning the actions in Charlottesville as well as sending condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. “The American Probation and Parole Association, a membership organization that represents 90,000 public safety professionals, strongly condemns the racial hatred and bigotry on display in Charlottesville, Virginia. The resulting tragic outcome, with […]
Find details on the following positions on our Jobs Page. Veterans Court Coordinator (IOCS) Pretrial Pilot Project and Evidence Based Decision Making Initiative Coordinator (IOCS) Chief PO (Hancock) Probation Officer Pretrial Release Program (Monroe) Probation Officer (Marion and Miami) Community Corrections Field Officer (Monroe)
“The Vision”, the Providence High School alumni magazine
Katie Chrisco
(Elizabeth Starck is our 2015 Indiana Line PO of the Year) Elizabeth Starck ’01 has always had a love for animals. As a young girl, she said, she would bring home stray animals and beg her parents to let her keep them. Now, as a volunteer for Southern Indiana Animal Rescue, she is still bringing animals […]
Desta Clark has seen his share of trouble with the law. Sexual misconduct, fighting, robbery, drug use, selling weed. He’s been in and out of secure detention, on and off house arrest. He’s currently walking a fine line on probation. And getting ready to go back to school, and Bloomington North’s football team. He’s 15. […]
George Richard Glass, 87 NOV. 5, 1929—JULY 23, 2017 BLOOMINGTON — George Richard Glass passed away at age 87 on Sunday, July 23, 2017, in the loving company of family and those who cared for him greatly. A man never short of words, he told stories often and even offered some great last advice “Great […]
The following candidates have been slated for the 2017 POPAI Fall Election: Vice-President: Troy Hatfield Treasurer: CJ Miller District 1: Robert Schuster District 3: Sarah Lochner District 5: Melanie Pitstick District 7: Michael Coriell This year each position is uncontested. In accordance with the by-laws, in lieu of ballots, this year’s election will be […]
Just a reminder that if you know someone who deserves an award, nominations for the following awards are due by August 7. (links lead to nomination forms) 2017 Founders Award 2017 Line Probation Officer of the Year 2017 Rookie Probation Officer of the Year
Dr. Dan O’Donnell speaks to a small group of men and women seated among rows of tables at Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s East District headquarters. His delivery is matter-of-fact, maybe because the problem he’s talking about — the opioid epidemic — is no surprise to anyone in this room. They’ve seen the “pinpoint pupils,” the […]
To sign up for updates to this Forum, log in then click HERE. Updates will include: Minutes/Materials from Indiana Statewide EBDM Policy Team. Minutes/Materials from six (6) statewide EBDM Work Groups. Groups meet monthly to work on specific areas of EBDM. Indiana EBDM Work Groups: (1) Pretrial – Chairs: Judge Surbeck (Allen County) and Larry […]
2017 POPAI Fall Conference Downloadable Document We are again returning this year to the French Lick Resort. We will be offering a variety of breakout sessions, a few of which are highlighted in the online materials. More specific information regarding all of the additional topics to be included will be coming soon. Our vendors have […]
Nominations for for “Founder’s Award”, “Line Probation Officer of the Year”, and “Rookie Probation Officer of the Year” will be accepted until August 7, 2017. The Awards will be presented during the Lunch / Business Meeting at the 2017 POPAI Conference at the French Lick Resort in French Lick, IN. Winners of the “Probation […]
Drake Abramson is quick to pull out his wallet and show off his new driver’s license. It’s something the Lake Station teen has been looking forward to. Earlier this month, he graduated from high school and went to prom. His grandfather helped him buy a car, and at 19 years old, he was able to […]
It’s your last chance to submit an intent to run form for the annual POPAI Elections. Up for election in 2017: Vice-President Treasurer District 1 District 3 District 5 District 7 POPAI District 2 Representative Steve Keele is serving as the Election Committee Chair. Intent to Run Form The Intent to Run form must be […]
Find details about these jobs on our Jobs Page: Probation Officer Pretrial Release Program Monroe County Probation Officer Franklin County Front office / Field Staff Owen County Probation Officer Owen County
Two men charged as pot, $69,000 in cash is seized ANDERSON — Even a man on in-home detention has to earn a living. But Madison County authorities drew the line Wednesday on what they say was a business enterprise that involved selling marijuana. Members of the Madison County Drug Task Force arrested 37-year-old Elliott Scott […]
Indianapolis, Indiana (June 14, 2017) – The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) Commissioner Robert Carter today announced the agency will close its Indianapolis Re-Entry Educational Facility (IREF), located at the corner of New York and Randolph streets in Indianapolis. IREF is a minimum-custody level facility with a 420 bed capacity, but currently the facility holds […]
Wednesday, July 26 – Wednesday, August 30, 2017 Apply tools and strategies from the Smart Pretrial framework to raise your Pretrial IQ. As the Smart Pretrial Demonstration Initiative nears completion, there is much to be learned about how the pretrial law and research are translated to effective and sustainable practice. The six-part series will explore […]
VALPARAISO — As Stephen Meyer wraps 35 years this week with the Porter County Adult Probation Department, including just more than six years at the helm, he said his guiding philosophy has been simple. “If the person on (the) other side of your desk thinks you care about them, you can make a difference in […]
(BEDFORD) – Officials and community members honored a 17-year-old female who has worked hard to graduate Lawrence County Juvenile Problem Solving Court. This young lady, known as S.T. to protect her identity, successfully completed the intensive requirements of the problem solving court in which she has been a participant for approximately fourteen months. The Lawrence […]
It’s time for the annual POPAI Elections. Up for election in 2017: Vice-President Treasurer District 1 District 3 District 5 District 7 POPAI District 2 Representative Steve Keele is serving as the Election Committee Chair. Intent to Run Form The Intent to Run form must be sent to Steve by July 7, 2017 (postmarked, emailed […]
Courthouse dogs join CASA programs to help kids in court The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program in Delaware County just added a new four-legged member to its staff. Frankie, a two-year old female black lab, started her job at the CASA program in April. Frankie is one of only two dogs in Indiana specifically […]
The following jobs are posted on the jobs page Chief Probation Officer, Pulaski County Submit your application by June 9 District Coordinator, St. Joseph County Submit your application by June 30
A Deadly Combination of Fentanyl, Carfentanil and Heroin Grey death, the latest in an ever-evolving landscape of dangerous street drugs, is being blamed for several fatal overdoses in Georgia. Named for its resemblance to concrete mixing powder, grey death combines several powerful opioids, including heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil and a synthetic opioid called U-47700 (also known […]
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WDRB) — More potent street drugs are putting police K-9 officers in danger. Indiana State Police say they are concerned about their drug-sniffing dogs, as they find more drugs laced with fentanyl. “All they are doing is constantly inhaling – trying to smell and pin point,” says Master Trooper Chris Richey. He adds […]
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers took part in a celebration at the State House on March 20, 2017, sponsored by the Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana Office of Court Services, GAL/CASA. More than 400 people from across the state clothed in blue t-shirts filled its north atrium, chanting “I am for the child” and “I […]
Monroe County Jail inmate Albert Jones served as the day’s valedictorian, of sorts. Wearing a white trusty jumpsuit, rather than a cap and gown, he stood at a lectern in the jail’s classroom and read aloud from the poem he penned last week, called “Learning.” It details growing up on the streets of Detroit, dismissing […]
A two day seminar on Brain Injury and the Criminal Justice system will be presented at the Indiana Government Center and via webinar. There is no cost for attending. For those attending in person, there will be different types medical and legal continuing education credits. June 27 – 28, Indiana Government Center Auditorium BI in […]
Each year, POPAI provides a scholarship in memory of probation officer Donald “Charley” Knepple. Charley lost his life on April 28, 1997, while performing his probation officer duties in Allen County, Indiana. In an effort to honor an outstanding professional and to promote further professionalism, POPAI selected a scholarship that would encourage continued education […]
The Carroll County Community Corrections program will be moving out of a broom closet and into the lounge on the first floor of the county courthouse at the beginning of June. Although the county Board of Commissioners voted May 15 to allow the move right away, Community Corrections Executive Director Keyna Everett said later that […]
Editor’s note: Bloomington is not immune to the scourge of heroin and opioid addiction crippling the country. The epidemic has claimed the lives of 41 people in 2015 and 2016 in Monroe County. Two brave Bloomington residents have shared intimate details about the darkness of addiction and the hard work of sobriety with the hope that honesty […]
Editor’s note: Bloomington is not immune to the scourge of heroin and opioid addiction crippling the country. The epidemic has claimed the lives of 41 people in 2015 and 2016 in Monroe County. Two brave Bloomington residents have shared intimate details about the darkness of addiction and the hard work of sobriety with the hope that honesty […]
It’s time for the annual POPAI Elections. Up for election in 2017: Vice-President Treasurer District 1 District 3 District 5 District 7 POPAI District 2 Representative Steve Keele is serving as the Election Committee Chair. Intent to Run Form The Intent to Run form must be sent to Steve by July 7, 2017 (postmarked, […]
Dear Pretrial Committee Members, Indiana EBDM Policy Team Members, and Pretrial Pilot Site Participants: The Indiana Supreme Court recognizes your commitment to develop and implement an evidence based pretrial justice system. The 11 pretrial pilot counties are creating the framework for smarter and safer pretrial decision making in Indiana, and their progress over the […]
On April 21, 2017, Linda Brady, Chief Probation Officer of Monroe County and the President of the Probation Officers Professional Association of Indiana (POPAI), announced she is resigning as President of POPAI, effective April 21, 2017. The POPAI By-laws state, under Article VIII OFFICERS, Section 5. Vacancies: Should a vacancy occur in the office of […]
15th Annual Indiana Juvenile Detention Association Summit is May 9-19, 2017. For: Detention Administrators, Educators, Workers and Line Staff Juvenile Justice Professionals Juvenile Judges and Magistrates Juvenile Probation Attorneys Education Professionals Mental Health Professionals CASAs/GALs Sample Breakout Sessions Dealing with Difficult Staff Mental Health First Aid Staff Burnout PREA Tools and Resources Trauma Informed Care Human […]
Probation Officer Donald Knepple was shot and killed after being ambushed by a man at a counseling center on South Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne. The suspect, a former juvenile corrections officer who had been convicted of attempted child molestation, had arranged a meeting with his counselor and Probation Officer Knepple with the intent of […]
Submit your application to be considered for the Donald “Charley” Knepple Scholarship Award. The winner will be announced at the 2017 Annual Indiana Probation Officers Conference in May. The qualified candidate chosen for the Scholarship Award will be awarded $2,500.00 to help pay for their costs in continuing his or her education pursing a Masters […]
On Jan. 7, 2017, Jordan King drove with friends looking to buy heroin. Her body was found after she had been dragged from the car for 75 feet on Martin Luther King Jr. Street. Her parents reflect on her life. The former cheerleader loved her daughter, her family and her friends, but ‘the addiction was […]
Linda Brady has posted a new Legislative Update (2-23-17) in the Members Only Area, User Login Required. Our Members Only Area requires log in from an account that is free to all POPAI Members. Contact me at website.administrator@gopopai.org and I’ll get one set up for you. Karen Oeding POPAI Website Administrator
City, county officials meet with Young Allen County health, criminal justice and law enforcement officials told U.S. Sen. Todd Young on Wednesday that they could use federal help in battling opioid abuse. “This really is an epidemic that has become so big in our county that we don’t know how to deal with it,” Superior […]
When the Indiana General Assembly passed the expungement law in 2013, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry was in favor of giving a second chance to ex-offenders who had turned their lives around. He knew the statute would help these individuals live more productive and stable lives. But he did not expect the large number of […]
Applications are now being accepted for the 2017-2018 class of the APPA Leadership Institute. Find complete information including forms at the APPA Website.
The Indiana Probation Officer Professional Development Project is a collaborative project between the Indiana Office of Court Services and Executive Education at SPEA IUPUI to facilitate the professional development of Indiana probation officers and build greater capacity to implement evidence-based practices. We received a report (a work in progress) from the researchers and it is […]
A new report from the Brennan Center for Justice concludes that “unnecessary incarceration” — imprisoning people for low-level offenses and keeping them there for years — is ruining hundreds of thousands of lives, wasting billions of dollars and having little effect on public safety. If you’ve been following the debate over mass incarceration in the United States, these […]
We have two listings on our Jobs page for your consideration. If you’re thinking of applying as an Adult Probation Officer for Tippecanoe County, act fast. Send in your application on or before January 4 online. There is an opening for an Adult and Juvenile Probation Officer in Marion County. Email a Cover Sheet, Resume […]
This is the second feature in Tech and Reentry, a series profiling organizations in the field of corrections and reentry that are using various forms of technology to improve participant engagement, streamline service delivery, and enlist volunteers. Low recruitment numbers. Poor attendance. Lackluster quarterly reports. These are concerns that burden many nonprofit, community-based outreach programs around the […]
Global Positioning System data can be used to create serious problems — even life-threatening ones — if control falls into the wrong hands, experts warn. (TNS) — With a plethora of location-based services hitting the market, GPS appears to be an essential feature in today’s digitally driven world. But Global Positioning System data can be used […]
JEFFERSONVILLE — Olivia Hilton, a 17-year-old high school junior, sometimes thinks about where she might be if it weren’t for Family Time, a social service agency that helps hundreds of families across Southern Indiana. About two years ago, Hilton was charged as a runaway and placed on probation. As part of the terms of probation, […]