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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 23, 2015 02:02 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Thomas R. Caltagirone |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Providing Probation Officers with the Authority and Tools to Better Manage Offenders and Protect our Communities |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation to address the problem our probation officers are facing while managing parolees. Probation officers in Pennsylvania are handcuffed because they are not permitted to briefly stop (seize) a parolee on the street to conduct a probation/parole check unless they have reasonable suspicion that the parolee is violating the terms of their probation. This standard makes no sense. Parolees are released early from prison because they agree to be supervised by a Probation officer and they know they are subject to searches. In fact a probation officer can compel a parolee to appear for meetings, submit to drug tests and so on but under current law cannot stop and talk to a parolee on a street corner. It makes common sense to allow probation officers the authority to briefly stop (seize) a parolee in public to confirm they are complying with their conditions of probation or parole. Providing probation officers this authority will not only make our streets safer but it will also provide for a more efficient system. This legislation is drafted to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Samson v. California, 547 US 842 (2006) (suspicionless searches are reasonable under the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution) and as a result of the Pennsylvania Superior Court holding in Commonwealth v. Chambers, 55 A.3d 1208 (Pa. Super. 2012) (probation and parole officers cannot seize an offender without reasonable suspicion). This bill will provide our probation officers with the authority and tools to better protect our communities. I hope you will join me and co-sponsoring this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB470