The Greene County Supervisors recently heard an update from a pilot program that began last year.

The Boone/Greene County Probation Services has seen increased activity since it started July of 2019. As of June 1st, there were 29 clients for 33 cases. The program gives supervision to convicted criminals who were sentenced to informal probation. Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn explains informal probation typically means it was unsupervised and convicts were constantly not adhering to the requirements of their probation sentence. 

When the Supervisors agreed to start the program, it was originally intended for the first 20 convicts that were sentenced to informal probation. According to a report from Diane Hinderaker with Boone/Greene County Probation Services, the first month of July, there was one client, then a total of two in August, then four in September. By October, the numbers jumped to ten and steadily increased to the 29 at the beginning of this month.

The cases represent a wide range of incidents, from assault to unlawfully increasing bets. When the program hit its 20th client in January, the Greene County Supervisors approved an addendum to the agreement to remove the limit of 20 clients and allow the contract to automatically renew at the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1st, unless either party wanted to make changes or terminate the agreement. The addendum also kept the County’s payment the same at $8,518 and allowing five-percent of additional costs if needed. 

Both Hinderaker and Laehn felt at the Supervisors meeting that the program was successful and there was accountability for the convicts if they broke their probation requirements.