Providence Community Corrections Inc. PPC operates in 45 states with obvious inherent problems associated with judges owning an interest in private probation companies.
NASHVILLE, TN. A class action accuses a private probation company of bilking and extorting probationers who must pay for its services. The class claims that Providence Community Corrections, which operates in 45 states, triples the probation term of its average "client" so it can milk monthly supervision fees from them, charges far more in fees than the courts or service providers do, and does it all without an agency to regulate it, or to whom probationers can complain. And the class notes that there are "obvious and inherent problems associated with judges owning an interest in private probation companies."
Misty Dawn Bell sued Providence in Davidson County Chancery Court, alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Consumer Protection Act. She seeks punitive damages for the class.
Bell claims that Providence overcharges probationers, extorts money from them, intimidates them into signing unfair contracts, adulterates urine samples to make it look like they used drugs and sexually harasses and sexually assaults them.
Armed sheriff's deputies act as Providence agents, adding to the intimidation and harassment, Bell says, and "PCC and judges incarcerate probationers based on their inability to pay." Bell claims this system has been recognized as corrupt for years.
Judge Craft noted that he was seeing a lot of what he felt was corruption and a lot of injustice resulting from the operation of private probation companies. Judge Craft noted the lack of requirements regarding owners and employees of private probation companies, in terms of their criminal records; i.e., the fact that persons with convictions for rape, forgery, embezzlement, drug convictions, armed robbery, etc. are able to serve as monitors of persons placed on probation. Judge Craft noted the conflict of interest, and opportunities for abuse based on the for-profit status of the private probation companies.
Pdf. Link:
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/01/27/PrivateProbation.pdf
Link:
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/01/27/33674.htm