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LUCY MORGANCaseworkers can speed past judges to arrest those under their supervision who commit felonies or break probation.
TALLAHASSEE - State probation officials quietly have started immediately arresting more people accused of violating their probation instead of waiting for an order from a judge.
The new policy is aimed at quickly jailing anyone on probation who is arrested for a felony or who violates their probation and has a violent past.
Since the order was issued a week ago, probation officers have picked up 388 offenders considered to be a threat to their communities. The week before, 119 were arrested on probation violations.
"I think we've got folks' attention," Department of Corrections Secretary James Crosby said Tuesday.
The tougher rules regarding probation violators follow two high-profile crimes in which men on probation were charged with murder.
Troy Victorino was charged last week in the brutal slayings of six people in Deltona, the state's worst mass killing in a decade. The 27-year-old had spent eight of the past 11 years in prison. Four probation officials were fired for failing to seek a warrant for Victorino within 48 hours of learning that he had been arrested for battery in a separate case in July.
Under the new policy, probation officers would have immediately arrested Victorino instead of seeking a warrant from a judge.
In February, Joseph P. Smith was charged with abducting and killing 11-year-old Carlie Brucia in Sarasota. Smith was twice accused of violating his probation in the months leading up to the murder but was not jailed.
The new policy also could have required Smith's immediate arrest on probation violations. One of the violations involved failing to pay court fees. The new rule does not apply to probation violations such as failing to pay fines, restitution or court costs, unless the person has a violent past.
Smith also had a violent past that the judge was not aware of, and that record could have triggered his immediate arrest under the new policy.
Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe said he wants probationers with a violent past off the streets. But he said the new policy will overburden court dockets and prosecutors' caseloads.
"It's going to swamp the jails," McCabe predicted.
The Pinellas County Jail held 69 people on probation violations this week, more than double last week's total. Hillsborough County also is feeling the impact.
In the past week there were a record 4,785 people in Hillsborough jails.
"They are arresting probation violators left and right," Hillsborough Sheriff Cal Henderson said.
On Aug. 11, a day after Crosby issued the order, 47 of the 283 people booked into the Hillsborough County Jail were charged with violating probation. That is about three times the average number picked up in a single day.
Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober said his office has yet to see any impact on the court system.
In Pasco County, officials reported housing about 15 more probation violators than they had a week ago. The county's jails already are crowded with 1,186 inmates in cells designed for 889 prisoners.
Crosby's order applies to officers who supervise about 153,000 people on probation. While it does not increase the officers' authority, it significantly limits their discretion.
Usually, the arrest of a probation violator occurs after caseworkers present paperwork to a judge. The judge then determines whether the offender should be arrested or brought to court later.
That process can take weeks or months, leaving a probationer with a history of violence free until the paperwork makes its way through the court system.
Now Crosby has ordered probation officers to immediately make arrests in cases where the person on probation has been charged with another felony, or has in some way violated probation and has a violent past.
"We're saying let's hem them up and put them on ice until we can decide what we've got," Crosby said. "When an offender has a prior history of violence or is a threat to the community, we want a warrantless arrest."
The judges then can look at the situation and decide whether the offender should be released on bond.
Crosby said he cannot imagine prosecutors or judges complaining about an effort to get violent offenders off the streets.
But defense attorneys don't like the new policy.
"Somebody in Tallahassee is trying to cover their behind by making it look like they are cracking down on offenders," St. Petersburg defense attorney Maura Kiefer said.
Pinellas-Pasco public defender Bob Dillinger said the change was unnecessary. He said it may lead to offenders spending so much time in jail they lose their jobs and fall behind on the payments they are supposed to make.
"It's going to keep people in jail longer than is necessary," Dillinger said.
Crosby reacted quickly after probation officers failed to take action against Victorino, the man charged in the Deltona killings. Volusia County deputies notified probation officials that Victorino had been arrested on a battery charge in July. But his probation was not immediately violated and he remained free.
Crosby said there was no excuse for the inaction, because departmental rules required action within 48 hours. In addition to firing the officials involved in Deltona, Crosby is reviewing records statewide to determine whether additional firings are warranted.
The St. Petersburg Times reported in June that 426 people with at least one violent offense in their past were accused of violating their probation five or more times between July 2001 and January 2004. Most of those 426 people did not receive prison time for their violations, in spite of criminal histories that included beating up girlfriends, mistreating children or hitting the police officers who arrested them.
Staff writers Bill Levesque, Shannon Vansickler and Steve Thompson contributed to this report.