NCJ Number
162827
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 59 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1995) Pages: 62-65
Date Published
1995
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The attitudes of probation and parole officers toward the fee collection practice and process in Alabama were examined by means of a survey of 196 officers in the 54 State field offices in Alabama.
Abstract
Responses came from 151 officers, for a response rate of 77 percent. Seventy-six percent of those responding had both probation and parole supervision duties. The average number of years employed was 10 years. Results revealed that participants recognize the importance of fee collection for their department and generally support the practice of collecting supervision fees. They think that fee collection has some positive effects for the offender and the department. The major difficulty involves the process; a substantial number of participants indicated that the process takes too much time, especially considering officers' many other duties. Many participants agreed that a centralized fee collection unit within the field office provided a viable alternative to the current method of collection by individual officers. Further research should focus on the impact of centralizing the process and the potential net-widening effect of emphasizing and depending on supervision fees. Tables and 7 references