Richmond County Cuts Ties To Private Probation Company
One Georgia county has cut ties with a private probation company it had used for more than a decade. The company, Sentinel Offender Services, has been sued more than a dozen times for violations.
The majority of those suits stem from Sentinel jailing people unable to afford the company’s fees.
Sarah Geraghty, a lawyer with the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, has sued Sentinel on behalf of clients who were charged money for drug tests no judge ordered them to take.
“Private probation companies have a financial incentive to keep as many people on probation for as long as possible,” she said.
Geraghty said there are more than 35 private probation companies operating in Georgia, collecting more than $40 million in fees every year.
Beginning this month, the Augusta-Richmond County government is bringing its probation services in house.
“Too many complaints and too many lawsuits, yes. I think those were the driving factors that caused it to happen,” said Augusta-Richmond County Commissioner Bill Lockett.
Lockett said supporters of companies like Sentinel like the fact that the offenders, not taxpayers, pay for their services. But Lockett said those offenders are part of the community.
“We need to make the investment because, after all, they’re still citizens and paying taxes. So we need to do what’s best for them,” he said.
Lockett said Richmond County expects any costs incurred during the move away from Sentinel to be recouped within a year.
Both he and Geraghty said they’re hopeful more courts see the change in Richmond and follow suit, but it’s not a panacea.
“Moving to a government-run system is not a guarantee that all problems will be solved,” said Geraghty.
She said the Southern Center does see some complaints of government abuses, but Geraghty said those don’t make her phone ring off the hook like they do in cases where private revenue is involved.
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