Ga. Probation Reforms Attempt To Increase System’s Transparency
A bill recently passed by the Georgia Legislature aims to add transparency to the private probation industry. Advocates are hopeful it will cut down on what they say is widespread abuse.
More than 300,000 Georgians are on probation for low-level offenses like traffic stops. Many are put on probation because they can’t afford to pay their fines.
For years, advocates have claimed the probation companies that contract with local courts abuse their power, collecting excessive fees from indigent probationers and illegally threatening jail time.
“Private companies have essentially extorted payments out of indigent individuals – cases in which the companies have threatened to detain and in fact detain poor people simply because they didn’t have money to pay their fines and fees,” said Sarah Geraghty, a senior attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights.
If the bill is signed into law by the governor, the private companies will have to release key data for the first time, like the total number of people under supervision and the amount of fees charged and collected. They’ll also be required to provide probationers balance statements and payment receipts.
“Transparency is incredibly important any time you have a private corporation performing a public function. It’s especially important here where private probation companies have so much power over a person’s liberty,” Geraghty said.
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