President Powell testified before the City Council stating that Covid-19 has not changed our work. Probation Officers and Supervising Probation Officers are required to make home visits. We are on the streets, essential personnel protecting our city. Electronic monitoring is now an important tool for many reasons. It allows keeping more people out of City prisons while providing additional safety for the community at large. Whether an adult or youth should be incarcerated or placed in a juvenile facility during the Covid-19 pandemic must be contingent upon public safety risks. Who can effectively provide this oversight? Trained, experienced probation officers can and will. To the extent that we have to come in direct contact, for their safety and the safety of my members, we must take all recommended safety precautions. Therefore, to keep us on the street, we need proper equipment. PPEs are a beginning. We also will require larger vehicles, continuous cleaning of our offices and reception areas, and the installation of plexiglass in our offices.
