Pa. parole system under scrutiny in Philadelphia City Council

Sparked by the killing of a police officer last year, a Philadelphia City Council Committee is taking testimony on Pennsylvania’s parole system. 

Officer Moses Walker was shot to death in August of 2012 allegedly by Rafael Jones, who was supposed to be on electronic monitoring, but the monitoring was not set up.

Michael Potteiger, Chairman of The Pennsylvania Parole Board, says he would need more money to make sure those who are paroled have monitoring installed before they go home.

“It’s very challenging in the city of Philadelphia to to retain and keep good people,” said Potteiger. “In Philadelphia, the turnover is higher than anywhere else in the Commonwealth and that is a resource issue and that’s a challenge for us to continue to look at.”

Former Parole officer David Gugliemi says before he retired in February he struggled to oversee 80 to 120 cases a week. 

“Everyday was a constant battle of deciding what cases were priority and needed immediate attention and which cases could wait,” said Gugliemi. “All this was done with the hope that things you did not do would not result in someone being injured or killed.”

The parole board has stepped up its efforts in the wake of the murder.