Paul O'Connell, Operations Director
Community Corrections Mission Statement
The mission of Community Corrections is to enhance community safety and reduce harm to citizens by positively impacting lives.
Community Corrections Vision Statement
A partner for safer communities.
The responsibility of the Community Corrections Bureau of the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) are to protect the public through community based supervision of offenders upon release from an institution and/or offenders accepted under the Interstate Compact (ISC) until expiration of their term of supervision.
Community Corrections ensures the accurate release, effective re-entry, transition and supervision of offenders released to the community utilizing a continuum of supervision services, strategies, evidence based programs and meaningful incentives and sanctions. Community Corrections facilitates the swift return to custody of those offenders who violate conditions of supervision and who represent a serious threat to the safety of the community. Community Corrections provides meaningful interaction with victims to maintain public protection.
In December 2012, ADC opened the Southern Regional Community Corrections Center (SRCCC) in Tucson, Arizona. SRCCC provides an alternative to incarceration for community placed high risk offenders that will reduce recidivism rates, prison admissions and taxpayer subsidies while at the same time address violations of supervision in lieu of incarceration. Housed within the facility is a sanction/work release program for community supervision offenders, inpatient drug treatment program, and shelter services for homeless offenders released from ADC facilities.
Offenders under Community Supervision must follow standard conditions of supervision as well as any special conditions that the assigned Community Correctional Officer deems appropriate based on the offender's criminal history.
Interstate Compact Services Unit (ICS): Coordinates parole transfers to and from Arizona. The Unit serves as the central location for interstate information and special investigation requests from other states on pardons, clemency investigations and pre-sentence reports. Unit staff act as liaisons with various state and local criminal justice agencies when procedural problems arise. The unit administers the Interstate Agreement for Detainers for Inmates incarcerated elsewhere who are returned to Arizona for trial on untried criminal charges. The Interstate Compact is a formal agreement between member states that seeks to promote public safety by systemically controlling the interstate movement of certain adult offenders.
Release Unit: The Unit coordinates all activities between institutions and Community Corrections in transitioning offenders from prison to the community. Activities include processing release packets, reports, and forms on all offenders released from the institution to the community. The unit also maintains and coordinates all homeless offender activities and placement information.
Sex Offender Coordination Unit (SOCU): The Unit reviews all sex offender cases up to one year prior to release from prison to determine if the offender is subject to the statutory requirements of the Sex Offender Registration (ARS 13-3821), Community Notification (ARS 13-3825), or civil commitment under Arizona's "Sexually Violent Person)" (ARS 36-3701) statutes.
As part of this process, the ADC Classification System identified sex offenders that require a review for statutory requirements. One year prior to release, all ADC institutions forward sex offender packets to the SOCU for review and processing. The SOCU completes full investigations on all sex offender inmates. The Unit identifies and assesses sex offenders scheduled to be released from ADC and coordinates legally mandated community notification with local, county and state law enforcement agencies. The Unit also provides ongoing training to local police and sheriff's offices on the sex offender community notification process in Arizona. Unit staff coordinate all sex offender referrals to the county attorney under the state's Sexually Violent Persons statutes.
Warrant Services/Hearings Unit (WHSU): The Unit is responsible for obtaining, processing and monitoring all warrants requested, issued and received by and for Community Corrections. Responsibilities include entering warrant data into ACIC/NCIC data base, confirming warrants for other agencies, quashing warrants for other agencies, quashing warrants approved by Community Corrections Manager, and maintaining the warrant data base for statistical purposes on all arrests, warrants issued, quashed, and canceled.
In addition, a hearing officer reviews all absconder and served warrants written by Community Correctional Officers. Upon completion of the review process, the warrant is prepared for entry into ACIC/NCIC by warrant staff or returned to the Community Corrections office for editing. Other duties include supporting the Board of Executive Clemency (BOEC), conducting administrative and ISC probable cause hearings and maintaining statistics on revocation hearings.
Electronic Monitoring Unit (EMU): The Unit supervises all offenders released on parole or community supervision that have a past or current conviction for a crime designated as Dangerous Crimes Against Children as outlined in ARS 13-60401 and ARS 13-705. The Phoenix EMU supervises those offenders in Maricopa County, and Tucson EMU supervises those offenders in the greater Tucson area. The EMU also supervises inmates released on Home Arrest.
All offenders, both DCAC and Home Arrest, are monitored using active GPS. This is a field based unit. The officers assigned to work in the EMU supervise the offenders in the community, using GPS to find their location. All contacts are random and unscheduled. EMU officers work weekends and evenings. Additionally, EMU staff respond to Level 1 violations (strap, tamper, and unable to connect) on a 24/7 basis, and are required to resolve these violations within two hours of notification.
New Payment Methods for Community Corrections Fees Effective January 1, 2015
Standard Conditions of Supervision