States Eye New Compact for Offenders.

• Author: Lyons, Donna
• Position: Brief Article

Some believe it is time to update how we supervise released felons who travel across state lines.

The rape and murder of a 24-year-old woman in Denver by a convicted felon from Maryland has become the "poster crime" for more effective supervision of the estimated quarter of a million adult offenders under community supervision who live or travel across state lines.

Lawmakers from eight states have approved an updated Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision. Proponents say the current 60-year-old agreement, which will remain in place until at least 35 states enact the new version, leaves potentially dangerous offenders roaming across state lines.

The Denver woman's death is a tragic example of the holes in the present system, according to Colorado Senator Norma Anderson, who sponsored the first state enactment of the new compact. The man accused of the Denver crime was a felon released from a Maryland prison and sent on a suspended sentence to Colorado for drug treatment. The defendant was in Denver without any notice to state or local authorities. Since he was not technically on probation or parole, such notice was not required under the existing compact.

"Newer methods of supervision, like deferred sentences, are not even mentioned in the compact written in the 1930s," Anderson said. Not only would that loophole be closed under the new compact, it also would create a system for quick information exchange. Anderson said it takes an unacceptable average of 90 days, even where notice is required, under the existing agreement.

Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Vermont also enacted the new compact this year. The California Senate has approved and sent the provision on to the Assembly.

Currently, a probationer or parolee may be sent by one state and received by another if he or she meets certain family, employment or other criteria. An advisory group led by the Council of State Governments and National Institute of Corrections drafted the new compact to include training, mediation and remedies to increase and enforce compliance with transfer provisions. Automation is expected to not only to speed communications about particular offenders, but also track their location and provide information annually to policymakers documenting the number of offenders moving state-to-state and any new crimes committed by those offenders.

In addition, the updated compact offers criteria for states to use in making decisions...