Courts around Georgia hire private probation companies to supervise misdemeanor cases. But the courts don’t pay the companies — the people on probation do.
Judges approve contracts setting the fees, and some Georgia judges have authorized a buffet of questionable probation fees that can pump up a probation company’s bottom line, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has found.
McIntosh County State Court Judge C. Jean Bolin approved an unusually long list of fees for her court’s probation company within days of being appointed to the bench in 2012.
At the time, South Georgia Probation had been called out by state regulators for charging fees that were not actually included in its contract, according to state records. Bolin approved an addendum to the contract that would prove costly for probationers, many of whom she put on probation only because they needed time to pay off traffic tickets.
Many judges approve only a monthly supervision fee, along with fees for any drug testing and electronic monitoring ordered by the court. But the authorized fees in the addendum Bolin signed included a $15 picture fee, $50 intake processing fee, $30 for orders to change a sentence and $25 for warrant dismissals. Bolin even approved a fee of $3 per hour for any community service probationers were ordered to perform. That was on top of the supervision fee of $35 per month and payments probationers owed toward their fines.
“I signed the addendum with the understanding that the scheduled charges were used on an as-needed basis and were acceptable in the industry,” Bolin said in an email to the AJC.
In December, state regulators shut down South Georgia Probation after an investigation found serious problems. The local government conducted an internal investigation and recently turned over its findings to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Bolin declined to be interviewed for this story but did agree to answer some questions via email. In the email, she said, “I am a far better judge now than I was the first few days on the bench. I am more informed and more engaged in every process involving my court.”
Are fees legal?
The public will soon be able to find out, for the first time, how much money in fees probation companies are collecting and keeping. Legislation passed by the General Assembly and awaiting Gov. Nathan Deal’s signature will require each company to disclose all fees collected from probationers.
The list of fees various probation companies charge has grown to the point that it’s unclear whether some of the fees that Georgia judges have approved are even legal.
Augusta attorney Jack Long, who has filed a series of lawsuits challenging the state’s use of private probation companies, has questioned some of the fees.
He said the County and Municipal Probation Advisory Council, which oversees misdemeanor probation, is understaffed and has done little to challenge fees. Many judges and local governments also raise few questions, he said.
“As a result, we have scores of so-called probation companies doing everything under the sun to make a buck from those who are least able to protect themselves,” Long said.
Numerous contracts reviewed by the AJC include “insurance” fees for people working community service, a charge that even some in the probation industry believe is an unethical way to increase profits.
The County and Municipal Probation Advisory Council recently fined a private probation company for charging fees that were not in some of its contracts. As part of the case, the Council pondered the validity of other fees that judges had approved for Satilla Probation Management, which serves 15 courts in South Georgia.
The council cited special concerns about fees for warrants, probation hearings and reopening cases. “This practice of fee collection may not be authorized under Georgia law,” the council said in the letter.
Cathy Byrd, Satilla Probation’s CEO, said she has been working in probation for more than 20 years and has never previously faced questions about fees.
She said clearer guidance from the state regulatory body would help. She also said critics of probation companies overlook a lot of what her industry achieves.
“I get letters and calls regularly from people thanking us for the job we have done,” Byrd said. “We do change people’s lives for the better, and that is something everybody wants to ignore.”
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, who is a member of the County and Municipal Probation Advisory Council, said it’s important for judges to pay close attention to the probation providers they rely on to carry out sentences they impose.
“The situation is not so much that the judges are corrupt, it’s just that some of them are not watching it at all,” Sills said. “It’s called justice. Justice protects the public. Justice punishes the criminal, but justice also protects the criminal.”
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