Hamilton County's plan to close four probation substations has sparked confusion in several communities, but court officials say the move will actually expand services county-wide.
Common Pleas Judge Wende C. Cross sat down with us to address what she calls "misinformation" about the closures in Price Hill, Avondale, Over-the-Rhine and Madisonville.
"A lot of confusion and misinformation is being circulated. The purpose of our department's restructuring is two-fold. The first is increasing public safety, which is a top priority for us, and the other is to allocate the resources of our department better," Cross said. "We want to aim to achieve not only a stronger probation department, but we also aim to achieve stronger and safer communities."
The Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas announced on Sept. 5 that all 11 field officers currently working at these substations will now operate from the Hamilton County Courthouse downtown.
"These officers, in addition to the field work that they're responsible for, also have significant case management responsibilities," Cross said.
Cross explained that judges previously approved the restructuring plan after years of research on best practices.
WATCH: Common Pleas Judge Wende Cross says the restructuring will provide "more direct, hands-on supervision" throughout Hamilton County despite concerns about transportation issues
"This isn't new. This isn't something we started yesterday or last month, or even three years ago. What we did was partner with the University of Cincinnati, as well as experts from NYU, and we wanted to look into how we were providing supervision to our adult probationers," Cross said.
Cross also mentioned that no judge was left out of the decision.
"All of the judges, except for one who was out of the country, had all of their votes counted, even if they weren't present. The only person who did not get to vote was not a judge at the time of the vote; they were appointed, but they had not started," Cross said.
She says the change isn't about cost-cutting, but under the new model, no officer will lose their job. Instead, they'll focus on field services work without case management work, but receive a 5% increase in pay because of their increased duty and service to the community.
"We will create a field services team. This team will be mobile, which they're not now, but they'll be mobile throughout the whole county, not just four neighborhoods," Cross said.
According to Cross, the officers will use marked vehicles and wear uniforms while serving all parts of Hamilton County.
We asked Cross how probationers will be held accountable without officers being in the neighborhoods they serve.
"No community in our county will be losing any services. In fact, we're going to have a more direct, hands-on supervision approach in all of the county," Cross said.
Cross said the new mobile unit will include arrest, transport, well checks and much more as the team supervises probationers where they work and live.
However, not everyone supports the change.
Former Common Pleas Judge Curt Hartman expressed concerns about transportation issues for probationers.
"They're able to get to the probation office while still working, taking care of other stuff. Now we're going to force every probationer to come downtown," Hartman said.
Cross denied that claim, saying that while probationers will now report to the central office, the county is expanding its use of field visits and technology to reduce unnecessary travel. Probationers who have transportation barriers will be provided with Metro bus cards for assistance.
When asked if there would be changes to consequences for probation violations, Cross said there would be none.
She said that while low-risk offenders will be supervised appropriately, "those high-risk offenders, we're going to put a lot of energy behind supervising those high-risk offenders so that they will not recidivate."
Cross said that the new approach will enhance community safety, allowing officers to spend more time in the field with a stronger community presence.
"We are not reducing our services; we are reallocating them, strategically and intentionally. Centralization enables us to respond swiftly and fairly while delivering consistent, evidence-based supervision to all Hamilton County communities,” Cross said.
A myth and fact sheet on the probation substations closures will soon be available on the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court website.
