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Community Corrections

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1. What is the difference between community corrections intensive supervision and regular probation?

The biggest difference is in the frequency of contacts between the probationer and our staff. In general, a probationer assigned to community corrections will have about four times as much contact with their probation officer as compared to regular probation. Also, to help us know how the probationer is doing outside of our office, about 25% of the face-to-face contacts occur in the probationer’s home or place of employment. This level of supervision is among the highest in the nation and is designed to ensure that any probationer assigned to community corrections is under intense supervision at all times.

2. What drugs do you test probationers for?

We have the ability to test, on site, for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, barbiturates, opiates and some “designer” status drugs. We also have the ability to utilize traditional urine testing and saliva testing. Both kinds of drug tests are given in the office, with the preliminary results available in 10 minutes. If the field tests are positive, the sample is forwarded to a federally approved laboratory for more extensive testing. For alcohol testing, we utilize portable breath analyzers.

3. How do I find out if someone is on probation?

Because there are several different agencies (Community Corrections, Court Services, Manhattan Municipal Court Services, and Kansas State Parole) in Riley County that supervise criminal offenders, finding-out which agency supervises a specific person will probably take several phone calls. However, because the basic information (name and what crime they were convicted for) about an adult probationer is public information, if the respective agency has the individual you are calling about under their supervision, you will be given the basic information.

4. What about more specific information about sex offenders?

In a statewide effort to allow the general public more information about any sex offenders who reside in their communities, all sex offenders are required to register with their local law enforcement agency. In turn, this information is available to the general public through a number of sources. You can visit the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to learn about registered sex offenders in your community.

5. Isn’t probation too easy and just a slap on the wrist for the criminals?

We have supervised over 1000 adult probationers in community corrections since we began operations in 1982 and very rarely has any probationer ever said their probation was “easy”. In fact, the opposite is true as we are often told that what we expect from our probationers is “too hard”. As an example of what we expect, under our tightest level of supervision, in a period of twelve months, the “average” probationer will have had over 75 face-to-face contacts with their intensive supervision officer, with about 20 of the contacts taking place in their homes or at their jobs. The average probationer will also be drug tested about 25 times in the twelve months. Pay stubs will have been checked, on a weekly basis to verify employment. And if the probationer has been court-ordered to participate in any special programs (AA, counseling, in patient treatment, community service work and so forth), the probationer’s compliance with the special orders will have been regularly verified by the intensive supervision officer.