Quote Originally Posted by allegro View Post
pretty much all courts have shut down
As a parole agent, I wish this were true. Until my state supreme court says otherwise, I am still doing investigations and testifying in sentencing and violation hearings. Regarding public safety, cat is indeed out of the bag at this point, as it is becoming evident that the focus is indeed shifting to high risk offenders and crimes that present a clear and present danger to the public. We have to maintain supervision on those folks and how I will be able to continue doing that and keep myself and family safe and healthy in the coming months are open questions. I personally am hoping that for now, the virus will act as a deterrent as even most criminals value self-preservation. Domestic and other abuses inside the home will sadly increase. Many of my clients are already on the margins with regards to stability, housing, employment, positive family/friend support, chemical dependency, etc. etc. Community resources that can be an alternative to incarceration were already scarce, now they too are shutting down. If there is staffing shortages and/or riots in the prisons we will be sent in to help. Triage is the new normal.