(GEORGETOWN, Del.) - Recently several probation officers in Delaware were injured on the job. Now probation officers are asking that their contracts be reviewed and that they get more equipment to manage the growing population on probation. WRDE sat down with Todd Mumford, the Union President of Probation Officers Statewide for an exclusive interview about the issues they're facing.
There have been 4 separate cases in just the last couple of weeks in which probation officers were injured in the line of duty.
Mumford says that whether it be from an an aggressive assailant who is resisting arrest or someone who is actually attacking them as they are trying to do their job, these cases are not rare. "We had an officer shot in the head. We've had other officers shot at," Mumford says.
Probation and parole officers in Delaware are responsible for monitoring 16,000to 18,000 offenders.
There's an intake process to be put on probation in which the Probation and Parole Department of Correction places an offender based on a sentencing from a judge. Mumford explains, "That sentence can be anywhere from level 1 which is an unsupervised level of probation. It's basically administrative in nature all the way up to a level 4 home confinement which is basically you're in jail while on the street. You're only allowed out of your home for certain things that you agree upon with your officer."
Mumford says they don't always have the necessary equipment to effectively monitor the people placed in their custody. "We struggle with getting radios for every officer. We don't have radios in our cars at all. We also are the only community-based law enforcement agency in the state that doesn't issue tasers."
Obtaining enough equipment isn't the only problem. "One of the issues that we face as far as being able to attract and maintain quality personnel is our salary."
Probation officers all must have a Bachelor's Degree, but their salary falls behind every other law enforcement group in the state. Even after they receive their hazardous duty pay, probation and parole officers make a little over 40 thousand dollars a year.
Probation officers do an important job in the community and they need support from the state to do it correctly.