Gov. Bev Perdue’s promise of more openness in state government has hit a speed bump. Her new secretary of the Department of Correction, Alvin Keller, has declined to release records showing how well the probation system performed in thousands of cases in which probationers committed crimes.
By contrast, his Easley administration predecessor agreed that they should be made available. In fact, Theodis Beck released partial records in 24 cases.
Those results were troubling, revealing that overworked probation officers often failed to follow through on basic supervision. Warrants weren’t filed, for example, and probationers never were connected to monitoring devices.
Given those shortcomings, further examination may shed light on how to repair an agency that has lost contact with thousands of people it supposedly supervises, often with tragic results.
Since 2000, 580 murders reportedly have been committed in the state by people on probation. Several high-profile crimes committed by suspects, who eluded even cursory supervision, drew attention to a litany of inefficiencies.
In response, Perdue has called for a major overhaul. For starters, her budget includes $28 million for more probation officers, higher pay, updated communications, warrantless searches and access to juvenile records.
Equally important, she promised more transparency and accountability. Keller, a former Marine officer, was supposed to lead the charge.
Instead, he’s backing down, saying department employees could sue if confidential data are wrongly released. District attorneys, fearing pending cases could be compromised, also oppose release, he argued.
Yet, if a lax probation system is responsible for an inordinate number of crimes, the public needs to know. Part of the solution may be sending offenders, often repeaters, back to prison.
And, if the case studies already available are an accurate indicator, there’s reason to believe shoddy oversight is a major contributor to the probation system’s poor performance.
While the reports might contain embarrassing information, shedding more light on what’s wrong with a broken system that can’t account for 14,000 people may help fix it.
Since taking office, the governor has made admirable strides in keeping her campaign pledge of more openness. She has released records Gov. Mike Easley wouldn’t.
But in this instance, just the reverse is true. How that can be justified cries out for an explanation.
Both Perdue and Keller should realize that citizens, deeply concerned about violent crimes, are due the full government transparency they were promised last November.
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