Judge: Background checks overload prison staff

TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Required background checks before someone is sentenced to prison is overloading the state’s corrections staff.

“There’s a real problem with a shortage of staff, and it gets to be an issue,” 5th District Judge John Hohnhorst said. “They’re overloaded. I don’t blame probation and parole for a minute. They’re doing the best they can under the circumstances.”

The Idaho Department of Correction employs presentence investigators who specialize in that task, but probation and parole officers have been recruited to help carry the load.

The Department of Correction is staffed to do about 45 investigations a month, but it has been doing 60-plus a month for more than a year, said Teresa Jones, agency spokeswoman.

A presentence investigation provides a judge with information about an offender’s criminal record, mental health issues, education, family, substance abuse history and other factors needed to determine a proper sentence for a felony conviction.

“It allows us to notify the judge about issues in their life,” said Jim Woods, manager for Correction’s 5th District office.

The department makes a sentencing recommendation, but the judge is not bound by it.

Options could include probation, jail time or drug court where individuals get drug treatment in exchange for gaining a clean record.

A report can take six or seven weeks to complete, and the cost of incarceration — about $24 a day — is charged to the county until sentencing.

The individual may be released on his own recognizance until sentencing but that can cause problems, especially among drug users, Hohnhorst said.

“They’re sitting around, sort of in limbo,” Hohnhorst said.

“The longer those people are out floating, the more they have the opportunity to use.”