Friday, September 29, 2000
One probation unit wins praise
Municipal Court keeping up with drug testing
By Dan Horn
The Cincinnati Enquirer
After two weeks of trouble, Hamilton County's judges got some good news about the probation department Thursday.
An audit of probation officers in Municipal Court found “significant compliance” with court orders to conduct drug tests on criminals.
The results of the Municipal Court audit differ greatly from similar audits done recently in Common Pleas Court, which handles the most serious offenders.
The Common Pleas audits revealed that hundreds of court-ordered urine tests were not being done, allowing convicted felons to use drugs without risk of detection.
Although a few missed tests were found in Municipal Court, the judges say their audit revealed far fewer than in Common Pleas Court.
“From what I've seen, I'm satisfied they're doing a pretty good job,” said Municipal Judge David Stockdale. “We may find that some fell through the cracks, but we'll stay on top of it.”
The audit reviewed cases referred to the probation department during the past three months, finding that 44 involved some kind of court-ordered drug testing.
Of those cases, 35 offenders were tested as ordered. Five others were not tested because they violated probation quickly and were sent to jail.
Probation officials say they will investigate the other four cases to find out why at least some tests were missed. In one case, an offender apparently skipped town and was declared an absconder. Another involved a probation officer who missed a test while filling in for a vacationing officer.
“I think this is good news,” said Larry Muse, the assistant chief probation officer for Municipal Court.
He said he was especially encouraged to learn that some officers had occasionally conducted drug tests even when judges had not ordered the tests. “Some officers are going above and beyond the call,” Mr. Muse said.
Court officials have said the Municipal Court officers performed better than those in Common Pleas because their case files are regularly audited by supervisors.
Municipal judges also point out that Common Pleas officers must deal with more cases, more tests and more serious offenders.
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