Commission extends Sentinel probation contract | The Augusta Chronicle

The Augusta Commission agreed Tuesday to renew a contract with the probation firm Sentinel Offender Ser­vi­ces but held off on authorizing a $2.5 million loan to continue the Laney-Walker and Bethlehem revitalization until a city official returns with more answers about the project.

Commissioners peppered Chief State Court Judge Rich­ard Slaby with questions about Sentinel but refrained from arguing or insulting one another. Several of them made a revived call for decorum last week.

Sentinel has monitored probationers in Richmond Coun­ty State Court for 15 years but pulled out of Su­per­ior Court in Richmond and Columbia counties last year after lawsuits alleged the private firm was jailing clients, sometimes for extended periods, for nonpayment of fees that extended beyond charges imposed by the court.

Slaby said under the new contract, the four State Court judges are prepared to end the relationship with Sen­ti­nel if it becomes apparent the company is in the wrong.

“We don’t base our decision on allegations,” he said. “The probation company can do nothing more than the court orders them in that sentence.”

via Commission extends Sentinel probation contract | The Augusta Chronicle.