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Union Responds to Editorial opposing armed probation
officers
Police and Law Enforcement News
Friday, January 27 12:05 a.m.
The Probation Association of New
Jersey (PANJ) has issued a press release in response to an editorial
opposing their position on certain probation officers being allowed
to carry weapons.
The editorial appeared in the
Neptune-based Asbury Park Press on January 25, 2006.
In the piece, the
paper made clear that they have no use whatsoever for any probation
officer being armed.
An interesting sentence appears in the
last paragraph of the editorial, perhaps signaling a bit of an
agenda behind their opposition:
And one of the last
things New Jersey needs is more people, even good guys, on the
street with guns.
Hmm.
In any event, George Christie, PANJ
President, issued the following piece rebutting the APP editorial:
The Asbury Park Press'
Jan. 10 editorial "Don't arm probation officers" failed to
accurately depict the public safety issue being weighed by state
Supreme Court justices who will determine if probation officers are
able to carry firearms. At the heart of the case is an unimplemented
law that allows for a fraction of the nearly 3,000 well-trained
probation officers to carry firearms while on duty and dealing with
the most dangerous offenders.
Under the Community
Safety Act, 200 probation officers would be trained at the state's
police academy to use firearms while facing violent situations.
These officers would be taught to safely apprehend and arrest
probationers for whom arrest warrants have been issued. The
judiciary's legal challenges have prevented probation officers from
beginning this crucial training.
Annually, an estimated
25,000 probationers violate the terms of their probation. It is
imperative that they are apprehended to protect our communities and
families from offenders who might commit further criminal acts.
On a daily basis,
probation officers deal with probationers ranging from sex offenders
to gang members to those charged with weapons violations. All too
often, these offenders come to the probation office while in
possession of a weapon or have firearms in plain sight when officers
make home visits. Without a means of protecting themselves or
arresting these offenders for probation violations, officers cannot
apprehend offending probationers.
The editorial claims
"there's no evidence that substantial numbers of probation officers
are injured on the job." That is inaccurate. According to our
estimates, between 300 and 400 probation officers are victimized
each year. Incidents range from being held at gunpoint to being
assaulted to being attacked by vicious animals coaxed by
probationers. Under guidelines set forth by the judiciary, probation
officers have nothing more than pepper spray and their wits about
them to survive volatile interactions.
During a visit in
April 2003, two probation officers were leaving a Newark home when
they were ambushed and held at gunpoint. Using their knowledge of
the probationer and community, the officers escaped. However, if the
judiciary had not blocked the Community Safety Act, which was signed
in January 2002, the officers would have had the training,
protection and arrest powers necessary to diffuse the terrorizing
incident.
The editorial contends
that "A police officer can always accompany the probation officer on
a potentially dangerous assignment." Local law enforcement is
charged with multiple roles and duties that do not always allow for
police officers to be freed up for home visits to probationers. The
choice is then left up to probation officers to risk their personal
safety to venture into dangerous neighborhoods or allow probationers
to remain unaccounted for.
Law enforcement
organizations, such as the State Troopers Fraternal Association and
the Policemen's Benevolent Association, support allowing probation
officers to carry firearms since they understand the need to
safeguard our communities. Having probation officers included in our
state's arsenal of law enforcement can be beneficial in the
post-9/11 world only where probation officers are supervising
individuals being investigated for terrorism by the FBI.
The role of a
probation officer goes far beyond making sure probationers get jobs
or remain in substance abuse treatment. Probation officers work with
offenders to help them become contributing members of their
community and mentor probationers to prevent recidivism. In most
instances, probation officers know significantly more about the
individual than other members of law enforcement and can provide
more insight into a person's potentially dangerous tendencies should
an arrest warrant be issued for them.
When the governor and
Legislature enacted the Probation Officer Community Safety Act, they
recognized the usefulness of a specialized probation unit to deal
with the most dangerous probationers. The need for this unit remains
critical today. The Supreme Court should place the public's safety
above the technical concerns raised in the case and allow for the
implementation of this unit.
George Christie is
president of the Probation Association of New Jersey, Brielle, which
represents probation officers and their supervisors statewide.
We strongly support
PANJ in their efforts and a program allowing probation officers to
carry weapons subject to thorough training (maybe even more thorough
than ours) in firearms, use of force and related topics.
Police and Law Enforcement News
Friday, January 27 12:05 a.m.
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