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New PEF administration backs parole
officers
Collecting supervision fees from parolees remains unresolved
By DEBORAH A. MILES
After a year that began with public outcries at legislative hearings from PEF
members in the state Division of Parole (DOP), some satisfaction was gained when
state Parole Board Chair Robert Dennison said he would honor the request of
members to make changes at the agency.
Dennison made the announcement on Valentine’s Day, after hundreds of parole
officers jammed two separate state Assembly hearings in January, and asked for
the resignation of DOP Executive Director Anthony G. Ellis II.
Ellis has not resigned, and the five points of contention involving changes in
procedures haven’t been resolved to the satisfaction of parole officers.
One issue is stopping the practice of having parole officers collect supervision
fees from parolees. Dennison announced in February the agency would change this
procedure. But it hasn’t.
“We are still collecting the supervision fees,” said Manuelita Clemente, PEF
Division 236 council leader. “This practice takes time away from the purpose of
our job — to supervise parolees and help keep crime off the streets of New
York.”
PEF leaders took an aggressive stand on this issue, and pushed for legislation
that would require the agency to designate a central location and address for
payment of supervision fees by parolees, relieving officers from this
time-consuming task.
Although the bill passed both the Senate and Assembly, the governor vetoed it
August 16.
“This is a setback, but the fight isn’t over yet,” said PEF President Ken
Brynien. “If the administration at the Division of Parole thinks it made that
promise knowing there was going to be a change in the union administration, it
was wrong. I will continue the fight to make sure our members in parole are
well-represented, and I will back the efforts of the council leader.”
Brynien said he plans to meet with Dennison to discuss why the agency hasn’t
lived up to its verbal agreement.
Clemente said the other four changes have been implemented in varying degrees,
with a couple of them remaining unsatisfactory.
The agency administration has agreed to meet with PEF leaders regarding the
issue of redundant paperwork, a major issue among parole officers.
At many worksites, the agency did implement a policy freeing parole officers
from returning to their offices at the end of the day, in exchange for calling
their supervisors twice daily.
And the agency created a new process to review internal complaints, and kept its
word to abolish a draconian off-duty alcohol-use policy, and signed-off on this
issue with the union.
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The Communicator Oct. 2006
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