More concerns over Birmingham probation office relocation to Shelby County

Updated: Aug. 22, 2019 at 10:40 PM CDT
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) -The Alabama Pardons and Paroles board says its lease was up at its Birmingham probation office, resulting in a recent move to the Hoover area. The problem is, they didn’t let a lot of people know about it. The new probation office is just over a thousand feet from the Today Care Children’s daycare. Daycare management said they had no idea the probation office had moved just down the street. Parents didn’t want to go on camera, but they say it does raise safety concerns with the office being so close.

Birmingham attorney Roger Appell says even though sex offenders have to check in, they wouldn’t be violating their probation.

"The law doesn’t say you can’t walk past one or be in the neighborhood. It just says you can’t work or live in that area, so that’s not going to change…but you would think common sense would they at least they would tell these people that this was going to be happening. The daycare should have been told about it,” Appell said.

"No. I wasn’t given any information or any reason why,” Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr said this week.

Carr says he found out about the move when the public did. He says it’s going to make it tougher for people to check in with their probation officers. The nearest bus stop is over two miles away.

"It’s nonsensical to me. The state should be as close as possible to the people they are serving…Everybody I’ve talked to. Everything I’ve read about, everybody either the prosecution or defense side is up in arms about the whole situation,” Appell said.

Because of all the concerns, the state parole board is planning to temporarily open up a probation reporting location on the 1st floor of the Jefferson County courthouse and open a satellite office soon about two miles from the courthouse.

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