Next week (July 15-21) will be observed nationally as Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week.

For over 100 years, officers have been supervising offenders to make our communities a safer place to live. These unsung heroes dedicate their lives to serving crime victims and holding offenders accountable for the wrong they have committed to our families, friends and communities. It is through their commitment to public safety that our communities are a safer place for our families.

At the end of 2005 there were over 4.9 million adults and over 600,000 juveniles being supervised in our communities by these officers. They are responsible for over two-thirds of the nation's offenders under supervision or custody, yet they receive only one-third of the money allocated for custody and supervision of these offenders. The challenges they face are tremendous, yet they continue to make a difference.

They make a difference through monitoring and enforcing sanctions as well as providing treatment, developing partnerships with other agencies and community groups, and by assisting offenders in their efforts towards leading a law-abiding life.

They are professionals who constantly acquire knowledge of what motivates offenders and apply that knowledge in the most effective way possible. The work they do has become multifaceted. Their work goes well beyond supervision and surveillance of offenders, it has expanded to include working with victims in a much more involved capacity to ensure that restorative justice principles are addressed. All of this is done in an effort to ensure the highest level of public safety.

Since the days of John Augustus, the "Father of Probation" who started probation in 1841, the atmosphere in which these dedicated professionals work has become more violent. The rise in the number of offenders under community supervision, the impact of drugs, the availability and use of weapons and the increase of violent behavior contribute to the danger these officers face each day.

Corrections professionals who work in the community are to be commended for the bravery they show when making home visits to some of the nearly five million adults under community supervision in areas that most people would never enter. The work they do is many times unnoticed and least known about, yet it is one of the most important jobs in community safety.

We are proud to honor the Probation, Parole & Community Supervision employees who work to make our communities a safer place to live.

Michigan Department of Corrections, FYI Newsletter 071207