Putting Criminals On Notice Father Of Crime Victim Pushes Misdemeanor Probation Plan

Eight years ago, Ed Young’s teenage son was raped, his throat slit by two men.

At least one of the attackers, Young said, should have been in jail. He’d committed a minor crime while on probation.

“Nobody seemed to care,” Young said. “It made me wonder: ‘Who keeps track of these people?”’

The answer: virtually no one. In Idaho, there are no caseworkers to watch over criminals who have been put on probation for committing misdemeanors, such as battery and drunken driving.

Young wants to change that.

The 58-year-old telephone book salesman is hoping to start a business monitoring some of the 7,500 people put on probation each year for committing misdemeanors in Kootenai County.

Modeled after a program in Quincy, Mass., Young’s program would be responsible for making sure the convicts meet all the requirements of their probation. If they didn’t, Young said, he could notify judges who could issue arrest warrants.

Young’s brainstorm came earlier this fall when the founders of the New England program visited North Idaho to share their success.

“I got really fired up about it because I saw an opportunity to save a life,” Young said.

And he insists the whole program would cost taxpayers nothing. Judges would fine defendants an additional $35 or so to have Young oversee them.

“By state code, defendants are supposed to pay the probation department to manage them,” Young said.

Though still in its infancy, Young’s idea has piqued the interest of some local officials. Others, however, are skeptical.

Sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger said he had several questions but thought the idea had merit.

“There’s a pretty strong movement nationally to privatize a lot of government functions,” Wolfinger. said. “This would certainly fit, especially where it’s user-financed.”

Kootenai County Commissioner Dick Compton said area judges thought the program was too logistically complex.

“We reviewed and thought it wasn’t something Kootenai County was interested in at this time,” he said.

Regardless, Sen. Clyde Boatright, R-Rathdrum, is preparing a bill to take to Boise when the Legislature kicks off its new session in January.

The legislation would craft a program that could allow such work to be contracted out.

“I think it’s a good private enterprise idea that would help the state out,” he said.

The problem with the current Idaho system, critics say, is the majority of state resources are dedicated to monitoring criminals put on probation after committing felony crimes.

State probation officers watch over felony lawbreakers, but since the late 1970s, growing caseloads and budget holdbacks have shifted the burden to prosecutors, many of whom admit they just don’t have the resources to track misdemeanor violators.

Court clerks and the county’s collection’s director try, between their other duties, to catch violators.

Some slip through the cracks.

In 1996, a convicted child molester who also was serving two years’ probation for battering an elderly woman was convicted on a trespassing charge.

But because there were no caseworkers to monitor that misdemeanor probation violation, he was back on the streets within two days. He went on to bludgeon an 82-year-old woman nearly to death.

Many misdemeanor violators also never complete the requirements of their probation.

People placed on probation for such crimes as battery and driving under the influence often are required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous, anger management classes or visit a psychiatrist.

If they don’t, they could be thrown in jail. But they seldom get caught, Young said.

The leaders of the Quincy program maintain it works.

“As a law enforcement officer, I think it’s a very effective, no-nonsense approach,” said Francis Mullan, a retired police chief who helped start the Quincy program.

Under Young’s proposal, judges would require convicts to meet with him within 48 hours of being convicted. They would be photographed and assigned a probation officer - probably one of a handful of retired police officers, Young said.

“We would basically track these people’s movements and hold their feet to the fire,” Young said. “Are they doing what they’re supposed to be doing?”

, DataTimes