Tennessee probation officials monitored dead parolees, audit finds

The state's former Board of Probation and Parole conducted annual arrest checks on at least 82 deceased parolees who had been dead for between six months to more than 19 years, an audit found.

The audit, conducted by Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson's office, revealed two cases in which probation and parole officers entered information indicating the offenders were still alive.

"Inadequate supervision of offenders results in increased public risks and jeopardizes public safety," Wilson said in a statement. "If parole officers are supervising dead people, this is a waste of taxpayer dollars and makes us wonder about the supervision of parolees living in our communities."

In other findings:

• The audit showed 26 sex offenders tracked by GPS equipment "had not been properly monitored for sex offender treatment," a monthly requirement.

• some cases, officers failed to complete or document their efforts to complete all of the required face-to-face contacts with parolees. In other cases, officers did not perform required home visits of regular offenders.

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