66 FLORIDA PROBATION OFFICERS LAID OFF

The State's Budget Cuts Have Hit The Ranks Of Probation Officers, With
66 Of Them Losing Jobs, 22 Of Those In South Florida

TALLAHASSEE -- With the state budget tightening, 66 Department of
Corrections probation officers lost their jobs last week.

The layoffs targeted those with less than a year of service and
represented a 3 percent reduction in the probation officer force
statewide, including 22 in South Florida. The cuts, made Thursday,
stemmed from last year's cuts in the prison system's budget, which
faces a $28 million hole in its balance sheet.

''I truly regret having to take this action, but we have no other
options, given the current budget situation,'' said Florida Department
of Corrections Secretary Walter McNeil.

Cutting probation officers statewide ''minimizes the impact to public
safety,'' said spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger.

The cuts came a few years after probation officers stepped into the
spotlight with two high-profile murders of children, Carlie Brucia and
Jessica Lunsford. Both were killed by felons who had violated their
probation, prompting lawmakers to crack down on probation violators
and increase the workload of probation officers.

The office of Gov. Charlie Crist, who led the crackdown charge, said
the layoffs would not affect how the law is carried out.

''It's purely economics. You can only do what you can afford to do,''
said Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa. ``Right now, there's not enough
revenue to do what should be done.''

But the Police Benevolent Association says it believes the layoffs
will jeopardize public safety.

''We don't want to have those kinds of things, like Carlie Brucia and
Jessica Lunsford, to prove a point, but that's what we've got,'' said
PBA Deputy Director Matt Puckett, who had urged that upper-level staff
members be laid off instead of field officers.

The caseload for the remaining probation officers will now grow by 11
percent for each officer, to 93 cases on average, up from 84.

Gov. Crist has until Jan. 29 to sign the legislation or veto the
cuts.

Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, decried the probation
officer layoffs and asked Crist to veto the entire budget and force
the Legislature to redo the budget cuts.

''The loss of 66 probation officers not only jeopardizes public
safety, it puts more strain on law enforcement and our court system
already stretched to the breaking point,'' Lawson said in a statement.