Unsupervised Convicts - A Clear and Present Danger Throughout Greater Sudbury
Public safety is being compromised with more than 900 convicted criminals wandering the streets of Greater Sudbury unsupervised by probation and parole officers who have been off the job since the Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU) launched its job action against the Progressive Conservation government six weeks ago.
The roster of convicted criminals includes sex offenders, child molesters, stalkers, drug dealers, fraud artists and thieves.
Probation and Parole officers are responsible for the supervision of community dispositions and the monitoring of criminal offenders that are released into our community. The continued unwillingness of the provincial government to offer a fair settlement is keeping them off the job and unsupervised criminals on the streets.
If these criminals get any level of supervision, it is minimal at best, said Richard Larcher, Probation and Parole Officer, Ministry of Public Safety and Security, Sudbury. We're seeing situations where these people are reoffending. In some cases, the crime could have avoided if the perpetrator could have been received appropriate counseling.
Services that have been limited or lost during the strike include:
Monitoring of sex offenders and other high risk offenders.
Counseling for pedophile and high-risk offenders.
Monitoring to ensure that orders for counseling are being met.
Confidential Interviews.
Referrals for special assessments (psychiatric, medical)
Contacting of victims and families to ensure notification of offender's release.
Transferring of information to police services.
The citizens of Sudbury should know that convicted criminals are happily roaming our streets knowing they are accountable to no one as to their whereabouts and activities, said Larcher. More work is being laid on the doorstep of our local police whose resources are already stretched. The result is that the public is at great risk.
The situation is worsening as the number of the local parolees and probationers grows. It is estimated that 50 to 60 new cases have been added to probation and parole lists since the advent of the job action
A number of OPSEU's demands during the current round of negotiations involve rebuilding the public service, including the ranks of probation and parole officers, to ensure accountability, quality service and public safety.
