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Community Corner

Parole/Probation/DA offices in Banning Retail Center?

Hello Friends,
Below are a few links to help you better understand what effects AB 109 will have on our Community. To begin with, here is the million dollar question: Does it make sense to place a County Probation Office in the center of Banning's premier shopping center, where career criminals will be ordered to report on a daily basis? or, would the community be better served by constructing a campus of County buildings on the east side of the courthouse? 
Effective October 1, 2011, AB 109 mandates that, Prison inmates sentenced to non-serious, non-violent or non-sex offenses will serve their sentences in County Jails instead of State Prisons.  Which means: upon their release, they will also be supervised by a County Probation Officer instead of a State Parole Officer.  
So, what AB 109 actually means is:  The State of California has shifted their responsibility over to the County's.
Under AB 109, to prevent over-crowding in the State prisons, the State has basically handed their excess inmates to the counties. So instead of an inmate serving a full sentence in State Prison, he will serve less time in the County Jail, and serve the remaining time on Probation.
Furthermore, I have been told that, under current policy all Probation Violation hearings occur in Riverside Superior Court.  However, I understand that, when the Banning Court opens in April, all County Probation Violation hearings will be heard and conducted in Banning. Thus, the reason for the larger County Probation Office in Banning which includes a 4,000 sf Training Facility.
Please read the links below for more information.
For your information:  AB 109, Terminology and Stats
Probation vs. Parolehttp://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=qa&iid=324
AB 109  Public Safety Realignmenthttp://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/docs/realignment-fact-sheet.pdf
AB 109 Newshttp://www.ab109news.com/

Probation and Parole in the UShttp://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4844


Don Peterson, CouncilmanCity of Banning, CA

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