Audit discovers delayed state parole officer visits to offenders’ homes

CARSON CITY — An audit of the state Division of Parole and Probation released Tuesday found that visits to the homes of offenders by parole officers were not always completed with the time frames set by the agency.

The audit by the Legislative Auditor found that of 50 high-risk offenders tested, 14, or 28 percent, had one or more untimely home visits between July 1, 2013, and March 31, 2015.

On average, ongoing home contacts were late by 32 days, but some were late by months.

An example in the audit was a sex offender in Las Vegas who had a home contact in October of 2014, with the next visit scheduled for three months later. But the next visit was not completed until June of 2015.

“The importance of home contacts in identifying inappropriate behavior was evidence throughout our sample,” the audit said. “We found numerous instances of offenders being arrested during a home contact, and for many of those, the home contact was late.”

The report, which identified several other concerns needing correction, was reviewed and accepted by state lawmakers serving on the Legislative Commission’s Audit Subcommittee.

As of February 2015, there were 8,785 individuals under active supervision by the division in Southern Nevada. Of that total, 643 were under intensive supervision and 942 were sex offenders.

Auditors made eight recommendations, all of which were accepted by the agency. One recommendation is to develop additional monitoring processes to help ensure ongoing home contacts with high-risk offenders are performed timely.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801