Parole officers may carry guns

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Parole officers may carry guns Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic Lisa Nowacki-Hubble (left) and other Pima County probation officers fire at targets during practice at a Tucson firing range. Carol SowersThe Arizona RepublicJan. 21, 2002 Faced with almost daily threats of violence, probation and parole officers statewide have won the right to carry arms on the job.There is no record of officers being killed on the job, or statistics available on the number of officers who have been assaulted. But reports from individual probation and parole offices suggest that violence is a frightening part of many officers' lives. For instance, nine of 10 field officers in one Maricopa County Adult Probation unit had to wrestle fleeing probationers to the ground last year, resulting in injuries that required medical attention. That same warrants unit, which tracks down probation violators, also seized 36 guns, in addition to caches of knives, swords and machetes. "We are without guns, but they have them," said Richard Breed, warrants unit supervisor.Wayne Scamuffa, president of the Arizona Probation Officers' Association, which lobbied hard for arming officers, said that group wanted action before anyone was badly hurt or killed."We didn't want to wait for a body count," he said.Recognizing the dangers, the Arizona Supreme Court late last year agreed with recommendations of its safety committee to train and arm probation officers who request it. The court plans to spend about $900,000 over the next 18 months to arm and buy standard safety equipment for probation officers in all 15 counties. There are no cost estimates for training.In a separate action, the Arizona Department of Corrections last month appropriated $1,575 to arm and train 60 of the 108 parole officers who asked to carry a gun, and to buy bulletproof vests and gun lock boxes. Those officers are expected to be armed in the next few weeks."We have concerns about the safety of our officers," said Richard Carlson, a deputy DOC director.Other states share that concern. About half have armed probation or parole officers in at least some jurisdictions.In its action, the high court for the first time ordered statewide safety and training standards, replacing the confusing array of county-administered policies.Cases in point: Pima County probation officers have been armed since 1985 and Cochise County was for a time. Some county's probation officers have radios, cellphones, and bulletproof vests. Some don't have flashlights or handcuffs.Breed said he is one of the 40 percent of the state's 2,200 adult and juvenile probation officers who said in a survey that they would take extra training and undergo background checks to be allowed to carry a gun."We have radios, cellphones, pepper spray and a black ink pen," Breed said.Do we feel vulnerable? Absolutely."Those same dangers confront rural officers, whose territory forces them into remote areas. "In metro areas you have neighborhoods, but in rural areas there may not be a house for a mile, and longer waits for law enforcement," said Armando Fernandez, Cochise County probation chief.Even officers who don't choose to carry a gun will be trained in "street survival skills" because "our clients are getting a little tougher," said Barbara Broderick, chief of Maricopa County Adult Probation.Don Stiles, Pima County Adult Probation chief, agreed that "the prevalence of drugs has changed the complexion of probationers. If you look back 20 years, we used to have lightweight offenders, property offenders who stole hubcaps, not very high risk compared to the ones we have today."Still, in the 17 years Pima County officers have been armed, only one has fired his weapon, and that was to stop a drive-by shooting in 1990.Loria Espinoza Montano, a Pima County probation officer, considers her gun another tool but said, "I hope I'll never have to use it."Policies require probation and parole officers to use their weapons only to protect themselves or another officer."There won't be any probation officers firing at fleeing felons or getting involved in car chases," said Kathy Waters, director of the Adult Probation Division of the Supreme Court. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/breaking/0121armedprobation21.html Reach the reporter at carol.sowers@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8058.