DAPO PUSHES INNOVATION AND RECRUITMENT

In an ongoing effort to fill parole agent positions, the Parole Agent I exam was administered on October 16, 2010 with more than 4,000 potential candidates submitting applications during the one-day “file in person” recruitment effort. Results are expected to be released sometime this month. The volume of applicants for a "one day" open recruitment was unprecedented and inspiring. Potential candidates with years of experience are applying from a number of disciplines. To accommodate anticipated new hires, a Basic Parole Agent Academy will begin January 3, 2011, for 80 parole agent cadets

In another development, the parole division will replace its Smith and Wesson 9 mm firearms with newer, superior Smith and Wesson M&P .40-caliber handguns. The new firearm provides more flexibility and user comfort, including an improved safety and magazine disconnect feature.

FIELD TRAINING OFFICER PROGRAM INITIATED

In its continuing effort to enhance professional standards, the Division of Adult Parole Operations has implemented its long awaited Field Training Officer (FTO) program beginning March of 2011.

Every law enforcement agency in California (and most throughout the United States) utilizes a field training officer program for its academy graduates and probationary employees. While most academies do a great job of teaching tactical, ethical or core components of the law, the real test is in the field under actual conditions. That practical learning environment should be under the experienced and watchful eye of a trained "lead agent" that can correct mistakes and also assist supervisors with probationary evaluations.

The FTO selection process will begin within the next few weeks and after selection, staff will attend a California POST accredited FTO school. Field Training Officers will be responsible for guiding trainees through a curriculum that requires blending knowledge, skills and the good judgment to know when, where and how to apply them. Upon graduation from the Basic Parole Agent Academy, new parole agents will be assigned an FTO for 10 weeks prior to assuming a caseload.

“An agent who becomes a Field Training Officer must commit himself or herself to the philosophy of the FTO. Training is as much about commitment as it is about proficiency and professionalism,” said DAPO Director Ambroselli. “It’s about motivating and training in a manner that is meaningful and unforgettable. It’s about caring for your profession, having passion for it, and conveying that passion to everyone, most prominently to your trainees.”

WAY TO GO DAPO!

Parole Agents Arrest Nearly 580 Sex Offender Parolees

California Parolee Apprehension Teams (CPAT) Coordinate with 140 Partner Agencies to Track, Search, Cyber-monitor and Capture Sex Offenders throughout the state.

Beginning July of 2010 specialized teams comprised of CPAT agents, more than 140 local, state and federal agencies and the Division of Adult Parole Operations agents coordinated their efforts to track, ensure compliance and arrest sex offender parolees who violated their parole.
"Operation Safe Playground" will run through January of 2011 and has proven to be an extremely effective exercise in capturing sex offender absconders and ensuring parolees are complying with their special conditions of parole.

Since July, parole agents and their law enforcement partners have conducted 1,276 parole and probation searches statewide, and arrested 579 sex offenders, 233 of whom were parolees-at-large.

This week alone – as part of California’s Special Enforcement Week – CPAT and its partner agencies have arrested nearly 350 sex offenders for the following offenses or violations:

Parolees-at-large 233
Child pornography 9
Pornography 87
Possession of drugs 46
Possession of weapons 36
Possession of contraband 131

Congratulations on such a successful operation and keeping communities safe by returning offenders that pose a risk to the community back to custody!

CALIFORNIA PAROLE APPREHENSION TEAMS

On September 1, 2009 DAPO established and implemented the California Parole Apprehension Teams (CPAT) as part of the Governor's parole reforms. The team members were selected and trained in fugitive apprehension techniques, the use of sophisticated software for searching thousands of databases, social networking sites and other electronic media.

Unique to this endeavor was the creation of Regional Intelligence Units that were staffed and equipped with specialized hardware and software to look for offenders throughout the United States. These Intelligence Units are staffed with highly trained staff that spend countless hours establishing leads to locate the offenders so the agents can spend time on the streets following up on the leads.

To date, these highly effective teams have been responsible for the locating, arresting, or closure due to imprisonment or death of more that 2,000 parolees at large. Their dedication to DAPO's mission of public safety by returning these offenders to parole supervision is paramount and a testament to the commitment the division has to protecting the public.

For examples of parolees captured and for the history of the Division of Adult Parole Operations efforts to capture parolees-at-large, visit the department’s web site at www.cdcr.ca.gov or visit the intranet at: http://intranet/opec/Lists/CDCR%20Today/CDCR%20Today.aspx

Electronic Monitoring Devices

The Electronic In-Home Detention (EID) program was originally established to enable Parole
Agents the ability to monitor a parolee’s compliance with the imposition of curfew restrictions. With the passage of SB 18 (3x) DAPO received additional funding to place 1,500 offenders on EID as an alternative sanction.

On November 15, 2010 DAPO began placing offenders on EID as an alternative sanction working toward the goal of placing the required offenders necessary to meet that goal.

---------------------------DAPO REACHES ITS GOAL FOR EID--------------------------

On November 1, 2010 DAPO reached its goal of 1,500 offenders on EID. Congratulations to the hard working DAPO staff for yet another milestone reached in our 5 Year Road Map!!!!!

GPS for Gang Members

The Division of Adult Parole Operations began implementing a second component of the “DAPO Roadmap” this year by expanding its use of Global Positioning System (GPS) for gang members. Consistent with the requirements of SB 18 (3x), DAPO began placing the most serious gang members on active 20:1 caseloads earlier this year.

The program will require the division to strap 1,000 gang members on 50 caseloads to be evenly distributed to the four parole regions. The GPS gang program shall be restricted to parolees that have been identified as having a history of gang involvement, activity or association. DAPO will work with its law enforcement partners to identify the parolees for placement.

Region I recently enacted “Operation Zero Tolerance” where more than 250 gang members were targeted for contact and 80 were fitted with the GPS devices. For video footage please click on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBXt2qU2r-s

Currently, DAPO has more than 24,000 parolees with a special condition that relates to “no gang association.”

-----------------------------------------DAPO REACHES ITS GOAL------------------------

On October 1, 2010, DAPO reached its goal of placing all 1,000 gang members on Active GPS supervision. This important goal not only provides law enforcement with valuable information, it protects the community by restricting serious gang member movement and further empowers agents with the information necessary to closely monitor their activity in the community.

DAPO Graduates First Unit Supervisor Academy

On May 28, 2010 the Division of Adult Parole Operations graduated it first Unit Supervisor academy. This course is a three week academy that gives first line supervisors a solid foundation to start their management careers. The academy consisted of general supervision courses, parole field operations and computer courses.

The skills and knowledge from this academy will assist our managers in facing the day-to-day challenges of supervising a parole unit within the community. Eventually, all unit supervisors will attend the academy taking approximately 18 months to complete. The classes will be comprised of newly promoted and experience supervisors to also add varying levels of experience and dialogue.

Congratulations to the first alumni!

CDCR Implements Public Safety Reforms to Parole Supervision, Expanded Incentive Credits for Inmates

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on Monday will launch, as required by a new law, public safety reforms to encourage inmates to complete rehabilitation programs, to improve supervision for high-risk parolees and to better partner with communities in managing minor parole violators.

By prioritizing supervision, creating incentives for inmates to complete programs that are proven to reduce recidivism, and with the addition of other reforms, California’s prison population is expected to be gradually reduced by about 6,500 inmates over the next year.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in October signed Senate Bill x3 18, authored by Sen. Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego), which also adjusts property crimes for inflation and requires CDCR to assess the risk of each parolee. The new law improves the current parole system by allowing parole agents to focus supervision on the more serious offenders, reducing parole agent caseloads, creating a new line of field supervision for field agents including field training officers, and implementing a new outcome-based case planning process that provides incentives for parolee success.

“I consider this reform to be a landmark achievement in improving public safety in California,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. “This fundamentally changes how we view successful parole supervision from a system that focused mainly on revocation to one that measures both public safety and how well parolees reintegrate into society.”

Improving Parole Supervision

The new law and reforms will improve the parole system in several important ways, including:

• Creates a system of “summary” or “non-revocable” parole for certain low-risk parolees. These low-risk parolees will be subject to standard parole search and seizure conditions but will not be subject to traditional parole supervision upon their release from prison. This creates a $100 million savings while allowing agents to focus their attention on higher-risk parolees deemed more of a risk to the public;
  
• Establishes and expands drug and mental health reentry courts for parolees to receive highly-structured treatment rather than being returned to prison for violations that may be related to those needs;
  
• Codifies the recently implemented “parole violation decision making instrument” which helps determine the most appropriate sanctions for parolees who violate their conditions of parole based on their risk to reoffend;

• In addition to the reforms established in SB x3 18, CDCR will implement parole reform strategies to protect public safety, including:
  
• Reducing agent caseloads to an average of 48 parolees for one agent from the previous ratio of 70 to one. This gives agents a better opportunity to supervise parolees more aggressively, and interact more frequently with local law enforcement, rehabilitative service providers and other community partners;
  
• Placing 1,000 parolee gang members on active GPS supervision and will add 2,000 electronic tracking devices for parole violators as an alternative to incarceration;
  
• Increases monitoring requirements for sex offenders on parole who are supervised using Global Positioning System;
  
• Reclassifying some existing parole positions to create 190 parole supervisors to oversee line-level parole agents;
  
• Adding 30 field training officers to maintain proper training standards for parole agents; and
  
• Using measurement guidelines for supervision that focuses on a parolees successful transition into the community rather than how many times they are revoked.
  

“These new laws and policies will transform how California supervises parolees that are actively living in our communities today,” said Secretary Cate.

Inmates Can Earn Time Credits

The new law will allow offenders incarcerated in a California prison to earn up to six weeks per year off their sentences by completing certain rehabilitation programs such as earning a GED or obtaining a vocational certificate. These programs are proven to reduce crime and assist in a successful transition into society.

In addition to the six week incentive, the new law will:

• Extend existing time credits to include day-for-day credit for time served in the county jail from the time of arrest for specified offenders;
  
• Provide two days of sentence credit for every one day after an inmate completes firefighting training;
  
• Provide two days of sentence credit for every one day an inmate works in an institution firehouse; and
  
• Provide a consistent rule of one day of credit for every day served for all eligible inmates whether they are on a waiting list for a full-time assignment, participating in programs, or undergoing reception center processing, so long as the inmate is discipline-free during that time;
  
• Continue policies that cause inmates to lose credits for criminal misconduct, rules violations and violence in prison.

Increases Monetary Limits of Theft Crimes

The minimum monetary value for some grand theft crimes, such as theft by an employee, access card theft, and theft of a dog, have increased to $950 from the previous $400 threshold. The threshold for basic grand theft will remain unchanged.

Improve Local Probation Supervision

The state will be authorized to annually allocate money into a State Corrections Performance Incentives Fund to be used to improve local probation supervision practices and capacities. Specifically, the money targets community corrections, keeping low-level probationers out of state prison, and shares any cost savings with local entities.