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ROCHESTER, N.Y. —\u00a0PEF parole officers and victims\u2019 advocates\u00a0rallied outside\u00a0the\u00a0Hall of Justice\u00a0in\u00a0Rochester November 22 to denounce the \u201cLess is More\u201d\u00a0parole reform\u00a0law\u00a0and\u00a0call out its serious repercussions\u00a0for\u00a0community safety,\u00a0parole supervision\u00a0and crime victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cLess is More requires that we turn our eyes away from those who are still serving their court-imposed sentences, who continue to demonstrate behaviors that negatively impact themselves, their families and the community,\u201d said Division 236 Council Leader and 16-year parole officer, Gina Lopez. \u201cLanguage like\u00a0\u2018simple technical violation\u2019\u00a0is misleading. All violations of parole are technical violations,\u00a0except a new arrest. Parole violations are not meaningless.\u00a0This law removes all meaningful consequences and accountability for parolees.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cLess\u00a0is\u00a0More\u201d bill\u00a0unilaterally prohibits parole officers from using their experience, training and knowledge to protect communities from parolees who are willfully and despite repeated warnings continuing down a path toward\u00a0re-violating the law.\u00a0It irreparably harms\u00a0the rehabilitation process for many parolees and\u00a0eliminates\u00a0the authority of parole officers to counsel or issue violations\u00a0for\u00a0issues such as\u00a0illegal drug use, alcohol use, skipping curfew and failing to report.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe supervise approximately 34,000 New Yorkers on parole with only 800\u00a0parole officers across the state,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cSixty percent of parolees are convicted of A1 violent felonies, such as assault, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parole officers face staggering caseloads, with one parole officer responsible for\u00a0supervising 48 parolees. Less is More does nothing to mitigate those caseloads and\u00a0fails to fund or restore mental\u00a0health, alcohol and drug treatment, job placement and other services that parolees desperately need for successful reintegration into the community.<\/p>\n
Current sentencing guidelines require all parolees be afforded the same level of supervision, regardless of\u00a0individual circumstances. Less is\u00a0More\u00a0does not address the need for change allowing expertly trained parole officers to\u00a0dedicate appropriate resources to the parolees with the most need.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re fighting for is life and death,\u201d said\u00a0PEF President Wayne\u00a0Spence,\u00a0a\u00a0longtime parole officer. \u201cPEF believes\u00a0meaningful parole reform\u00a0must\u00a0impact all aspects of reintegrating parolees into their\u00a0communities. That includes\u00a0providing adequate funding for low-cost education, technical training, mental health and wellness, addiction services and housing. PEF would like the state to consider amending its sentencing guidelines, which have not changed since 1995\u00a0and\u00a0review\u00a0the legislative risk assessment process that\u00a0too often\u00a0saddles parole officers with high caseloads.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victims matter<\/strong><\/p>\n Less Is More is also a slap in the face to crime victims.<\/p>\n \u201cLess is\u00a0More\u00a0means less accountability, more fear, more trauma and a growing awareness that the scales of justice are becoming very unbalanced,\u201d\u00a0said Patricia Huntington-Sigel, a victim advocate in the Rochester area for 35 years. \u201cFewer victims are taking part in the system. We as a people are heading in the wrong direction and more victims and citizens will choose not to participate.<\/p>\n \u201cThis sends a bold message to victims, witnesses and law-abiding citizens,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to include the voices of victims and advocates when making sweeping changes to the law. Parole is not a right \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s a privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a consequence<\/strong><\/p>\n Less is More is meant to benefit parolees, but for many it amounts to a disservice.<\/p>\n Randy Cimino, on parole for 30 years and now the president of Gates to Recovery, an addiction services group in the Rochester area, said he wouldn\u2019t be attending the rally if it wasn\u2019t for his parole officers and their dedication to their jobs and their parolees.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for parole, I wouldn\u2019t be standing here today,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery one of my parole officers was a pain in the ass, but without them I wouldn\u2019t be here and able to live by the rules. When you get out of jail, you are not free. Parole is part of your sentence. This isn\u2019t helping them. You\u2019ve got to stop this law before more men and women are dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Parole Officer Gabriela Franklyn, the assistant council leader of Division 236, reminded attendees that parole is a consequence that needs to be in place to protect the community and parolees.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen community safety is at risk, what do we do? We fight back,\u201d she said. \u201cWhere is it ever the case that you can commit a crime and think that you don\u2019t have a consequence? Community supervision is a consequence. Parole officers are the unsung heroes who promote community safety. We\u2019re going to stop the lie. Victims matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Legislative support<\/strong><\/p>\n New York Senator Pam Helming, who represents District 54 east of Rochester and voted against the legislation, said: \u201cLess is More;\u00a0what a joke. It\u2019s another radical bill that\u2019s been passed in Albany that caters to criminals but does nothing to keep our community safe. This bill provides no funding for resources like drug treatment or behavioral health services. It provides nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0Less\u00a0Is\u00a0More act is well intentioned, and it is critical that we help provide newly released individuals with the support and resources\u00a0they need to succeed,\u201d said State\u00a0Assemblymember Monica\u00a0Wallace, in a written statement provided to PEF. \u00a0\u201cBut,\u00a0we must also make sure that we don\u2019t hamstring our professional officers, whose job it is to keep our community safe. I voted against the act because I believed it would further strain our already overburdened officers by eliminating some of the tools they have to ensure compliance with post-release conditions. Now that the law has been signed, I\u2019ll be fighting to add more officers to reduce their excessive caseloads (48-1) and to expand access to the mental health, alcohol and drug treatment,\u00a0and\u00a0job placement services that individuals need to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n PEF will continue actively advocating for amendments to the law when the next New York State legislative session begins in January.<\/p>\n