Probation department says social media outreach works

CHILLICOTHE - Ask and you shall receive.

Lately, Facebook newsfeeds have been seeing a new page pop up asking for assistance from the community, and the response has been abundant.

Jessica Williams, chief probation officer and program director of the Ross County Probation Department, created a Facebook page for the agency a few weeks ago. She started posting names of people wanted on warrants after violating the terms of their probation, along with their pictures.

The probation department presented the idea to Ross County judges, who in turn approved it, and Williams set to work creating the page.

The idea, borrowed from other departments, proves to be popular; each new post amasses dozens of comments, likes and shares.

Williams said the endeavor has been beneficial. Thanks to the social media community, tips have been pouring in, and with the help of local law enforcement, 13 of the 28 people posted on the site so far had successfully been served.

"We've been fortunate with the tips we've received from the public," Williams said. "There's some sense of relief whenever we have someone that has escaped. We all take on that responsibility."

Because of the volume of tips coming in, Williams is in a trial-and-error process to see how many photos they should post at once. Too many, and it becomes difficult to manage the number of tips coming in; post too few, and it leaves more people out in the streets.

"Our primary job is to keep criminals off the streets and keep the community safe," Williams said. "The hard truth is we're grossly outnumbered."

With only five parole officers handling every parole case in the county, and one of those is only part-time, some officers are supervising over 200 people. They're performing 20 to 30 drug screens a week in the office. All that work does not leave a lot of time for officers to go out and do home visits.

The tips leading officers to wanted probation violators and criminals saves them time tracking them down, and allows them to get more work done.

It's a balancing act of time spent in and out of the office.

Some people have even turned themselves in after seeing their picture plastered on the Internet. Williams said if they do not want to be on Facebook, they should follow the rules of supervision.

There are no set guidelines for who is posted when, unless they pose a serious threat. For now, Williams is just going down a list of people with outstanding warrants.

While the probation department is not offering rewards for tips, a page that frequently shares their posts, just might. The Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers cash rewards are based on arrests, not convictions, board member Steve Barnes said, and that is for any crime.

"We would definitely be glad to hear any tips. The board would definitely consider a reward for information," Barnes said.

All tips to both Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers and the Ross County Probation Department are kept anonymous.