Topics Related to Community Corrections

Congratulations to 75 DPS law enforcement professionals who were recently recognized for their professional accomplishments. They were awarded Advanced Law Enforcement Certificates on Friday, Nov. 4 by the N.C. Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, during the board’s quarterly meeting. They are among 154 recipients from law enforcement agencies across the state.

A few weeks ago on the morning of Aug. 31, Robeson Confinement in Response to Violation (CRV) Center and Geo Reentry Services joined forces to make International Overdose Awareness Day a memorable occasion. What the staff didn’t know was that this event would become more impactful than they could have imagined.

Class 20 became the Class of ’22.

The 20th crop of future leaders in Adult Corrections was supposed to finish the year-long Corrections Leadership Development Program back in 2020. Then COVID-19 struck.

After a two-year pause, the Office of State Development and Training reassembled the group to complete coursework and group projects. Their relief-filled graduation ceremony was Thursday, July 14, at the OSDT Training Center in Apex.

Every day, the more than 2,000 officers of Community Corrections carry out their sometimes unheralded mission as Probation/Parole Officers for the State of North Carolina. 

While you might not have noticed them in your community, they provide critical public service at all hours of the day and night.

And the winner is…. A group of Community Corrections employees and partners who dealt with an unprecedented issue that led to a project never before attempted in the department got a special award for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The award was presented during the recent North Carolina Probation Parole Association training institute in Durham recently.

After a two-year delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Reentry Programs and Services successfully hosted the 2022 North Carolina Reentry Conference at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro on April 26-27. A pre-conference workshop on April 25 focused on effective correctional education strategies that prepare returning citizens for reentry and reduce recidivism.

April is Second Chance Month in North Carolina, a time to focus attention on the challenges facing the more than 20,000 people returning to their communities each year after completing their sentences in prison. 

Did you know that around 25 percent of North Carolinians have a criminal record?  That usually creates consequences that most people are not aware of. People leaving prison are starting over. They frequently need a place to live, a job and support to re-start their lives. In fact, about 95 percent of people in prison will eventually return to their communities.

Every day across the state members of the NC Department of Public Safety – whether sworn or civilian – serve to protect the lives and property of those living in and visiting our state. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic staff have expanded their responsibilities to help distribute PPE, share lifesaving information or assist with vaccine rollout. Probation and Parole Officer Cindy Ulibarri, a member of Unit O in Cleveland County, took on additional responsibilities this year while assisting with a community vaccination clinic. She has been with NCDPS for six years. 

With new COVID-19 cases on the decline, prisons providing vaccinations to all incarcerated individuals who want the vaccine; and  vaccines now widely available in communities across the state; the N.C. Department of Public Safety is wrapping up a project that provided quarantine space to recently released offenders who may have been exposed to COVID-19 prior to release. This group would have otherwise been homeless or didn’t have a stable home to go to following completion of their sentences.

April is Second Chance Month in North Carolina, a time to consider the challenges facing the more than 20,000 people returning to the