INTERSTATE COMPACT ON ADULT OFFENDER SUPERVISION Overseeing the movement of convicted offenders to and from Minnesota We live in a world where life’s activities necessarily take us across state borders—people work or attend school in a neighboring state; people routinely travel to other states for recreation; and people move to other states for family or employment reasons. Unsurprisingly, this mobility has an impact on our criminal justice system. Some individuals commit crimes in neighboring states, and other individuals, once convicted, wish to move to different states. What happens when an offender is convicted in one state, but actually lives in another state? What happens when an offender wants to move to another state? When can supervision of offenders on probation or parole be transferred to another state, and who is responsible for that supervision? The answer to these questions can be found in the Interstate Compact on Adult Offender Supervision. Some history A “compact” is a contractual agreement between states, enacted through legislative means, with the purpose of resolving a dispute, studying a problem, or creating an ongoing administrative mechanism for managing an interstate affair. Interstate compacts are authorized under the U.S. Constitution. In 1937, the Interstate Compact for the Supervision of Probationers and Parolees was formed as a result of the states’ need to control the movement of offenders. The compact was given sole authority for regulating the transfer of adult parole and probation supervision across state boundaries. In 2002, after a comprehensive review and assessment process, a new Interstate Compact was enacted. Today, all 50 states and the territories of Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are members of the compact. Interstate Commission The compact is governed by the Interstate Commission on Adult Offender Supervision, which provides day-to-day oversight of the compact between the states. The commission is also responsible for promulgating rules, establishing a uniform system of data collection and reporting, and monitoring compliance with compact rules. The commission can initiate steps to address and correct an individual state’s noncompliance with the rules. Compact Administration in Minnesota At the state level, the work of the compact is done by the compact administrator’s office, which is part of the Department of Corrections. This office oversees all requests for transfers to and from Minnesota and ensures that the compact’s rules are followed. The compact office keeps track of the number offenders coming into Minnesota from other states, as well as the number of Office of Justice Programs, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Page 1 Minnesota offenders sent to other states. Supervision cannot be transferred without the approval of the compact office. Training is a big component of the state’s compact activities. The deputy compact administrator routinely provides trainings to criminal justice professionals, including public defenders, prosecuting attorneys, and the judiciary. As part of the Interstate Compact, each state must establish a state advisory council. The state council meets periodically to review proposed rule changes, monitor the activities of the compact administrator’s office, and provide information and feedback to the compact office. In Minnesota, the state council is made up of representatives from the judiciary, the Department of Corrections, the legislature, the Public Defender’s office, the attorney general’s office, the governor’s office, community corrections, prosecutors’ offices, and the Office of Justice Programs. It’s all about the rules The backbone of the Interstate Compact is a complicated set of rules that lay out the criteria and process for transfers between states. These rules cover the offender’s eligibility for transfer, when and how states must accept the transfer of an offender, when and how an offender can be sent back to the original state, and what to do when there is a disagreement with another state about the offender’s movement. A key point with all of these rules is that an offender on probation or parole in Minnesota cannot just pack up and move to another state. Correspondingly, an offender being supervised in another state cannot just decide to move to Minnesota. The rules are designed to maintain continuous supervision over offenders. Under the compact rules, victims are supposed to be notified of transfers of supervision and have a right to be heard on a transfer proposal. However, the rules also state that any notification must be in accordance with a state’s own laws. Under current Minnesota law, there is no affirmative obligation on the part of any criminal justice professional to notify victims of a proposed transfer of supervision to another state or to allow for input into the transfer proposal. However, some probation officers in Minnesota do, nonetheless, take steps to contact victims about out-of-state transfers. Importance to victims People who work with crime victims know that victims have a great need to know where the offender is, sometimes just for peace-of-mind, but more often for significant safety reasons. It may provide great relief to a victim to know that an offender is being supervised a thousand miles away in some other state. Alternatively, a victim may be very afraid that an offender has returned to his or her state. Concerns about the location of the offender are particularly acute in cases of domestic violence, stalking, and criminal sexual conduct. Victims are often frustrated when they cannot find out exactly where the offender lives due to data practices laws. They can, however, get the name of the agency responsible for supervising Office of Justice Programs, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Page 2 the offender, as well as the name of the supervising agent. Obviously, when supervision is transferred to another state, such information can be provided to the victim. In many cases, it will be clear early on that an offender may request that supervision be transferred to another state. For example, in cases where the offender lives in North Dakota, but the crime occurred in Minnesota, there is a good chance that supervision will be transferred to North Dakota. A victim advocate can inform the victim of this possibility and explain how he or she can find out about any transfers. Victims may be aware that supervision of an offender was transferred out of the state, but they do not know the supervising agent. In these situations, they can contact the compact office for information on how to contact the agent. Similarly, if they are aware that an offender has moved into or out of Minnesota in violation of their supervision conditions, they can contact the supervising agent or the compact office for guidance in making a report of the violation. Finally, in cases where the victim lives in a different state than the offender, victims are encouraged to keep the supervising agent informed of their current contact information and to ask they be notified if the offender requests a transfer to their state. Under our current statutory scheme, the burden is on the victim to get information about an offender’s status and to find out if the offender has requested a transfer out of or into Minnesota. Crime victims seeking information and assistance should look to their local victim advocate, the supervising agent, and, in interstate situations, to the Interstate Compact office. To find out more Interstate Compact on Adult Offender Supervision: http://www.interstatecompact.org/. Minnesota Interstate Compact Office: (651) 361-7321. Minnesota’s State Advisory Council victim representative: Suzanne Elwell, Director, Crime Victim Justice Unit, (651) 201-7312. ______________________________________________________________ Author: Suzanne Elwell Director, Crime Victim Justice Unit Office of Justice Programs, Minnesota Department of Public Safety 2300 Minnesota Street, Suite 2300, St. Paul, MN 55101 800-247-0390, x8, 651-201-7312 [email protected] Originally published in Commentary, a quarterly newsletter issued by the Office of Justice Programs, Fall 2007: http://www.ojp.state.mn.us/publications/Commentary/2007_Fall.pdf Office of Justice Programs, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Page 3 .