Florida Parolee Arrests Chill Probation Climate

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s upcoming legislative session is likely to result in tightened parole restrictions after two men on probation were arrested in connection with highly-publicized murders.

Troy Victorino is charged with killing six people in Deltona. Well before the murders, Victorino had been arrested on a battery charge and should have had his probation revoked, but a paperwork delay left him on the streets. The parolee had actually visited his probation officer the day before the killings.

In another case, Joseph P. Smith had violated probation numerous times before he allegedly raped and killed an 11-year-old girl. Probation departments across the county work against just such incidents, which result not only in tragedy for the victims, but can also lead to across-the-board parole restrictions that worsen prison overcrowding.

The Florida Department of Corrections fired four probation officers after Victorino's arrest in the Deltona killings. The DOC also changed its policies by ordering officers to make arrests without warrants of violent offenders when they violate probation conditions, pending a court hearing on the violation.

The arrests have prompted politicians to make probation a priority in the 2005 legislative session. Florida Corrections Secretary James Crosby believes the overall system is not broken and says that changes should not be based on one or two highly-publicized cases. Some probation officials argue that additional resources for probation officers and increased use of satellite monitoring are needed.

Attorney General Charlie Crist is proposing a law similar to the expanded Corrections Department policy that would put more pressure on judges to keep probation offenders locked up. Florida already has the second-fastest growing inmate populations among state prison systems, with a surge of 4,400 inmates in 2003.