NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Two
people have been fired after a state audit of Board of Probation & Parole
found employees made annual arrest checks of at least 82 dead parolees.
State officials met Wednesday morning to go over the results of an
audit that found parole officers were still checking up on parolees who had
been dead more than a decade.
Lawmakers raised concern about how these actions affected public
safety.
"It's troubling enough to know we have employees supervising
dead people but those dead aren't a menace to society, so the greater
concern is what about the employees that are claiming to supervise people who
are a threat to society," asked State Senator Kerry Roberts.
The audit of the Board of Parole discovered employees were making
arrest checks of parolees that had been dead anywhere from less than six months
to more than 19 years.
In at least two cases, officers completed documents stating that
the offenders were still alive.
The audit results were released on Monday.
In a statement on the audit, Comptroller Justin Wilson said,
"If parole officers are supervising dead people, this is a waste of
taxpayer dollars and makes us wonder about the supervision of parolees living
in our communities."
The audit also found that many probation and parole officers were
not completing all the supervision requirements. There were many instances of
no evidence that officers tried to contact offenders.
In Wednesday's special meeting, lawmakers recommended the auditor
probe the agency against next year to ensure the problems are fixed.
The Department of Correction Commissioner Derrick Schoffield
couldn't give a timeline and when he believed he could address all the problems,
but he says it will be done.
"We're already in the process of looking at those and
fixing them, " said Schoffield. "What I will say is that we're
looking at everyday, and public safety is not just one event, it is something
that is ongoing."
(The Associated Press Contributed To This Report.)
