AUPE Executive Secretary-Treasurer Ed Mardell gives interviews to media at AUPE’s Jan. 29 information picket.	AUPE Probation Officers show their concern with understaffing and heavy caseloads in Edmonton Jan. 29.

EDMONTON – Under-staffing and high caseloads for provincial Probation Officers are putting the public at risk, the president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees warned today.
Dan MacLennan said the Alberta Probation Officers, who are responsible for supervising accused and convicted offenders on bail or probation, can no longer keep up with the amount of work they are expected to do.

"They’re caught between the courts, which rely more and more heavily on community sentences and treatment, and the province, which is inadequately staffing their service," he said.

"The result is that offenders are not supervised as intensively as the courts and public expect," he said. "That increases the likelihood of serious offenders committing more crimes, and less-serious offenders not getting the treatment they need to stay out of trouble."

Probation Officers, who are employees of the Alberta Solicitor-General Department and members of AUPE Local 003, will walk information picket lines in Edmonton and Calgary over the lunch hour today.

MacLennan will join the information picket in Calgary. AUPE Executive Secretary-Treasurer will walk the line in Edmonton.

"Serious offenders on probation require intensive supervision, including home visits and calls to employers and family members, to reduce the likelihood them re-offending," Mardell said.

"The courts may allow less serious offenders to remain in the community if they agree to take treatment for the problem that led to their coming into conflict with the law," he said. "If they aren’t supervised adequately, it increases the likelihood of more serious problems later."

MacLennan said that "some Probation Officers in Calgary have caseloads of over 130 offenders. A recent union-government joint committee established that staff should not monitor more than 90 files.

"With numbers that high, Probation Officers simply cannot make the calls and visits the court rightfully expects when it gives community sentences," he said.

"That can result in less serious offenders only seeing a Probation Officer at the start and the end of their sentences. And it means proper checks with employers and spouses can’t be made – not to mention home visits, which are crucial in many cases."

MacLennan called on the province to adequately fund and staff Community Corrections in light of the number of community sentences handed down by the courts.

"No one benefits from the present situation," he said. "Understaffing and reduced standards in the community don’t address the concerns of the public or our members."

For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-910-8392 (cell phone)
Ed Mardell, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, AUPE, 780-930-3302 or 780-991-6961 (cell phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cell phone)

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