Chairman's Message
Historically, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice have each performed community supervision of offenders in Georgia. Each agency accomplishes this mission with success resulting in the respect of our peers nationwide.
In 2015, Georgia is embarking on improvements to community supervision of offenders. House Bill 310 has been adopted and will create a new Department of Community Supervision. This new agency will be responsible for supervising offenders from our three agencies. Building upon the already successful supervision models of the three agencies, Georgia will soon have a statewide model of supervision resulting in an even higher level of public safety.
The Board’s parole officers will soon become a part of this new department and will continue to perform at the same high level that they always have served. While these officers will no longer call the Parole Board home administratively, they will continue to serve this agency and Georgia by protecting the public through superior offender supervision. The Parole Board will be a critical stakeholder and key partner for this new agency while accomplishing our shared mission of public safety. Despite these changes, the Parole Board will share this new department as our own. By name or location, we all work toward meeting the same goals and together we will succeed in making this new community supervision model the best in the nation.
Another legislative initiative impacting the Parole Board is House Bill 71. This legislation requires the Board to make additional changes to the notification
process when granting pardons and it will require that additional information is made available to the public regarding the Board’s decisions. While the Board and in particular the Clemency Division has already strengthened the pardon process and its notification process concerning Board decisions, this new law will continue to build upon those improvements. Provisions of the legislation regarding the release of information on Board decisions will improve the understanding of the important and critical role the Board has within the criminal justice system. My congratulations go to our staff who have accomplished the task of improving our clemency processes.
As we embrace these opportunities as an agency and individually, let us move forward with honor and pride to be a part of a workforce that is excelling each day while preparing for the future; a future of healthy change. I continue to be proud of our personnel who perform at a high level, completing their assignments, every day, serving the citizens of Georgia.
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles is a law enforcement agency that is proud to serve.
promotions
Heather Williams promoted to Assistant Chief Parole Officer in the Dalton District
Colleen Mathe’ promoted to Master Chief Parole Officer in the Lawrenceville District
Susan Patterson promoted to Assistant Chief Parole Officer in the Marietta District
William “Jason” Reeves promoted to Assistant Chief Parole Officer in the Jonesboro District
Thomas Green promoted to Assistant Chief Parole Officer in the Marietta District
Krystle Hunter promoted to Assistant Chief Parole Officer in the Dekalb District
Gayla Howard promoted to Chief Parole Officer in the Jonesboro District
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