SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
A private probation company in Savannah has lost its license to do business, leaving police scrambling to figure out what to do with hundreds of probationers.
Thursday, Tybee police learned Professional Corrections is closing its doors after 20 years handling probation for the city?s court, leaving Police Chief Bob Bryson to figure out what to do with the more than 200 people currently on probation.
But Tybee?s not the only city affected. In Garden City, Chief David Lyons is trying to decide what to do with more than 300 probationers who are being monitored under contract with Professional Corrections. Richmond Hill had Professional Corrections handling about 300 cases. Chatham County Recorder?s Court had Professional Corrections handling about 2,100 cases before terminating their contract with the company Feb. 28.
Chief Recorder?s Court Judge Tammy Stokes says that process began before Professional Corrections lost its license. Recorder?s Court put probation service out for public bid bid early this year, and Professional Corrections, which has handled Recorder?s court probation since the early 1990s, did not submit a proposal.
Both Richmond Hill and Recorder?s court have found a solution ? another private company, Southeast Corrections, which recently opened an office in Chatham County.
Last month, the group that regulates city-run and private probation companies ? the County and Municipal Probation Advisory Council ? took away Professional Corrections? license. The company declined comment for this story, but the move took some local police by surprise.
?I?ve been ecstatic with Professional Corrections,? Garden City Police Chief David Lyons said. ?They were the company that was in place when I got here 11 years ago. I?ve had nothing but satisfactory service with them, and this was a complete shock.?
Lyons said he understood Professional Corrections had appealed the advisory council?s decision.
Bryson said he learned Thursday that Professional Corrections was closing its doors despite the appeal and said it?s set to shut down March 29.
Regulators gave this list of reasons for taking away the license: not doing criminal background checks, not turning in names of all employees to the advisory council, possible falsification of training records, and not making records available for inspectors.
Lyons says other companies have been aggressively pursuing Garden City?s probation business since word got out that Professional Corrections lost its license.
?I think maybe there are some companies that would do anything to get the business and that scares me,? Lyons said.
Tybee?s City Council is set to vote Thursday night on what to do with the city?s 200-odd probationers. They?ve got to move quickly ? either by hiring enough employees for the city to take over probation management, which can be lucrative for local governments, or by signing a contract with another company.
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Source: http://lowbrowse.org/private-probation-company-loses-license-hundreds-to-be-affected.html
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