The Watertown Daily Times reports that New York probation officers are concerned about handling an increased caseload due to the new ignition interlock law, especially now that Gov. Paterson has proposed a probation department budget cut.
We’ve been explaining to legislators that interlock mandates are hard to enforce because probation officers need to monitor offenders to verify they’ve installed the device and are using it. Now that all offenders must get an interlock, the probation department is overwhelmed.
As Jefferson County probation director Edward E. Brown explains:
“We have really been accustomed to having more felony DWI offenders being on probation, but now including the misdemeanors [first-time offenders] will be a whole different gamut for our office.”
Interlock requirements are also expensive. Based on conservative estimates from the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), the interlock mandate will cost New York over $19 million per year to enforce.
This is just one reason why interlock mandates should target hardcore offenders – those with high-BACs (blood alcohol concentrations) and/or repeat offenses, instead of marginal, first-timers.
New York passed this law hastily, without public hearings, over the course of a few days. A little more scrutiny and attention to detail might have helped legislators craft a better law.
