District Supervisor for the state department of parole, law homework help
My role is the District Supervisor for the state department of
parole.
Phase 2 – Agency
Perspective and Role The student will describe the perspective and role
their agency has in dealing with the Group Project problem as assigned buy the
instructor.
What are the
traditional and practical approaches for the agency’s dealing with the
problem?
Why is/has there
been a reluctance to change approaches/strategies?
What motivations
would be required to affect a different approach or strategy (other that
direction from a higher jurisdictional authority)?
The student will submit a
3 page paper describing the perspective and role of the designated criminal
justice component to include the considerations referenced above. This
description will be supported by 2 outside resources.
GROUP PROJECT – The
Virtual Criminal Justice Alliance ....Background
For the past 11 months,
the Virtual Police Department has applied a variety of investigative resources
and strategies and is prepared to bring a number of criminal charges against
the members of the Very Bad Bike Club. These started out as investigations
of individual calls-for-service, complaints and criminal
investigations. They merged into a collective effort as the pattern of
activities and participants began to form. Based on the investigations, the
department believes it has probable cause to arrest and charge nearly every one
of the 63 VBBC members for conspiracy to manufacture illegal drugs, conspiracy
to sell illegal drugs, and participation in a criminal enterprise. Additionally,
numerous individual VBBC members can be charged with combinations of individual
criminal violations, including possession of illegal drugs, illegal possession
of firearms, robbery, attempted robbery, aggravated assault, and attempted
murder. Despite the confidence the Chief of the VPD has in these cases, no
information has been conveyed to the Office of the District Attorney nor has
there been any involvement with the Grand Jury. As far as the Chief of the
Police is concerned, this is the chance to destroy the VBBC once and for all.
The VBBC has plagued
Virtual for over a decade. Efforts to stop criminal activity by members of
the VBBC have been made almost exclusively by the police department, with
little or no support from the rest of the Virtual criminal justice system. In
the past most criminal charges brought to the Virtual prosecutor’s office by
police detectives have resulted in outright dismissal for lack of probable
cause or plea bargained agreements that reduce potential felony charges to
misdemeanors with payable fines. There have been however, two prior
instances of massive arrests of VBBC members. Approximately 7 years ago
raids resulted in the confiscation of drugs and weapons and the ultimate
conviction of 12 VBBC members. Six of these members are on parole and
still reside in Virtual; two others are currently in the county detention
center awaiting trial for new criminal charges and four others are confined to
the State prison near Virtual.A similar sweep three years ago produced nearly
identical results. These sweeps appear to have been ineffective. In short,
the VBBC has a network of members in jail, in prison, on parole in the
community and free on the street. The current police investigation has
affirmed that all of these VBBC members are in near constant communications
with each other.
Robert “Buddy” Pole is
the “president” of the VBBC. While currently on parole for manufacturing
methamphetamine, Buddy Pole continues to orchestrate the criminal enterprise
that is VBBC. Provisions of his parole agreement that prohibit association
with known criminals have gone unenforced. Robert Pole, Jr, (a.k.a.
“Little Buddy” or “Bud Lite”) is currently in the Virtual Detention Center
awaiting trial for carrying a concealed weapon. He seems to be in no hurry
to make the affordable bail. Jail officials believe he is trying to
organize a drug network within the jail. Two Detention Center correctional
officers were recently disciplined for attempting to smuggle cell phones into
the lock-up. It is believed they were destined for Little Buddy’s use. The
youngest member of the Pole family is Patricia (a.k.a. “Tripper”). A
chronic truant and trouble maker in school, Tripper was suspected of providing
marijuana to her junior high school classmates and has continued the practice
in high school. At age 19 and legally an adult, she is just about to
complete her senior year of high school. Tripper’s collections of
miscreant friends, most of whom are VBBC members or “wannabes”, congregate
regularly around the Virtual Mall and commercial centers. Her boyfriend, John
Henry Maxwell applied for a job as a Dunbar Security Force officer but was
rejected because of his record.
In order to rid the city
of Virtual of this criminal gang, Virtual Police Department Chief Clayton Moore
called upon his criminal justice partners:
The head of the
Virtual Police Department VBBC task force, Captain Jay Silverheels
The chief
criminal prosecutor from the Office of the District Attorney, Raymond Burr
The Security
Chief of the state correctional facility, Major Allen Irongates
The District
Supervisor for the state department of parole, Martha Street
The
Operations Director of the Virtual Security Force, James Dunbar
The Virtual Security
Force, a private security company hired by the Virtual Commercial Merchants
Association to provide security personnel, equipment, etc. to supplement the
resources of the Virtual Police Department in designated business and
commercial areas of the city. VSF personnel hold special police commissions,
have arrest authority on the property of their clients and may or may not be
armed depending on their assignment and qualifications.
At their initial meeting
Chief Moore made it clear to these partners that they had a single goal, to end
the reign of terror emanating from the VBBC and victimizing Virtual’s
citizens. Clearly if there was any hope of success, each criminal justice
partner has to do their part for the collective good of all. The Chief’s
remarks were met with wholesale agreement. It was decided the Virtual
Criminal Justice Alliance would attack the VBBC on two levels (1) the pursuit
of the current police investigations and prosecutions, and (2) a strategic plan
to work collaboratively to reduce crime in Virtual. When the initial meeting
adjourned Chief Moore had designated Captain Siverheels as his
delegate. He was not sure, however, that every agency representative in
the room felt his level of commitment or truly understood the consequences of
failure. He was also curious as to what resources each “partner” was
willing to bring to this operation and what would be held back.
Major Irongate has her
own issues with VBBC. Their presence in the state prison has settled down
what had previously been a powder keg of gang-related unrest. VBBC has
become the dominate force in the prison. John “Jacky” Pole has been able
to get the warring national/international gang members in the prison to suspend
their violence and focus on drug-related profits.With tensions simmering just
below the surface, Irongate knows the self-serving truce may be short
lived. Major Irongate was also asked to represent the Virtual Detention
Center. This facility holds arrestees awaiting a bail hearing, denied bail
prior to trial or in transitional housing from the state prison to attend court.
The jail also holds offenders serving short sentences for convictions on
misdemeanor charges. Nearly all of the prison’s inmate population came through
the Detention Center and may return there to be available for court
appearances. Major Irongate is convinced that these “traveling” inmates are
being used as “mules” for drugs and contraband cell phones.
Of the persons assembled
by Chief Moore, only Dunbar represents a commercial, profit-driven
agency. Simply put, these profits are the difference between the costs for
the security provided and the fees Dunbar charges. Dunbar is eager to
demonstrate a successful partnership with VPD and the Virtual Commercial
Merchants’ Association as a stepping stone to contracts with larger
jurisdictions. In any case, Dunbar’s primary motivation is to make money.
Raymond Burr would
applaud Chief Moore’s plan if he could, but as a pragmatist he feels that this
is a waste of time. He understands, if no one else at the table does, that
plea bargaining is to only way the criminal justice system can do
business. He has also warned the chief before that his detectives need
additional training on establishing probable cause, proper interrogation
procedures, appropriate charging, etc. If the VPD could get its act together he
would love to prosecute a good solid case against the VBBC, but prosecuting a
“looser” case will not solve the problem or help his own political ambitions.
NOTE: Each student will
be assigned a role as one of the five members of the Chief’s team. The student should fully
take on the persona of that member. Not all of the details can be
provided. Students are encouraged to (reasonably) embellish on the
character of the person they are assigned and play that role to the fullest.