Another Day, Another Lawsuit Over Private Probation Services in Alabama

March 18, 2015

Harpersville, Childersburg and now Clanton: municipal courts and private probation services continue to come under the supervision of courts. A new law details the practice of the “probation” services of the City of Clanton.  As detailed her,

"The deal between the city of Clanton and the private company, as alleged in the complaint, was a curious one for the uninitiated. The company promised not to charge Clanton for the probation services it was providing. And the City promised to provide the company with an evidently endless supply of defendants with speeding tickets and other minor infractions. Employees evidently called themselves “probation officers” (even though nothing in Alabama law seems to give them the right to do so) and operated under a logo designed to look like a badge even though they did not do many of the functions one associates with a probation officer. These employees were there to collect the fees and fines and penalties imposed by the court."