Login | December 24, 2024
Bill authorizes sheriffs to enforce community-control sanctions on offenders
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: December 23, 2024
A Portage County lawmaker has proposed a bill that would authorize county sheriffs to enforce community-control sanctions imposed on criminal offenders–– an authority currently reserved for probation officers.
Rep. Gail Pavliga of Randolph Township said the idea for House Bill 603 sprang from discussions she had with a detective from the Portage County Sheriff’s Office.
“They wanted us to research ways we could extend the responsibilities of probation officers to a sheriff or deputy sheriff,” she said during recent testimony. “The power that was requested was the authority to implement and enforce conditions for post-release employment, counseling, etc.––the same authority that probation officers currently have.”
She said county law enforcement officers were noticing that some offenders were not seeking employment as prescribed by the terms of their community control sanctions.
“Instead, they are collecting public assistance and doing nothing to pay back to the community,” she said.
HB 603 would extend the authority to sheriffs and their deputies, requiring them to report violations of felony community-control sanctions to the sentencing court, the county or multicounty department of probation, the Adult Parole Authority or an entity authorized to provide private probation and supervisory services to the county, according to analysis by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
The authority granted by the bill also would apply similarly to misdemeanor community-control violations.
“By extending this ability to our sheriff’s departments, we can increase and strengthen accountability measures that are currently in place,” the lawmaker said. “Through more accountability, we can thereby be more effective in rehabilitating offenders and helping them contribute to society in meaningful ways after their incarceration and probationary period are over.”
Staff from Pavliga’s office worked with the Ohio Legislative Service Commission in creating the bill.
The lawmaker said the newly granted authority for sheriffs and their deputies would work in the same manner as it does for probation officers.
“This bill maintains the framework and process for community control sanctions that is currently in place,” she said. “The only change included in the bill is the addition of sheriffs and sheriffs’ deputies as entities with the ability to report any violations. By extending these abilities to our sheriff’s offices, we can take a more holistic approach to law enforcement and include pertinent personnel in more stages of the process.”
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