Journalist: Kameron Sanders (TCC)
One uncommon fact is that people who are on probation can earn a higher sentence through
technical violation. A technical violation is any violation of probational terms such as failing a
drug test, missing an appointment, or breaking curfew. In Oklahoma, it is common to hear that
someone was found violating their probation and were incarcerated. Senator Amele proposed a bill that enacts a swift and certain probation program.
Amele’s plan is to prevent technical violations by enacting a swift and certain program. This is a
probation model requiring immediate action by the probationer to prevent the possibility Amele
expects, under this program, there will be less criminalization starting at technical violations and
taxpayers will save millions of dollars. If probationers do have technical violations their first
penalties will result in community service, verbal warning, etc. any other violations can result in
penalties such as 48 hours to seven days in confinement.
Further repeated or severe violation will result in the revocation of one’s probation by the court.
For this policy interview, I chose to interview senator Javen Sands. During the interview, for the
sake of time, I only asked two questions: “Do you believe this is an effective program?” and
“what kind of results do you expect?”.
Senator Sands stated that he supports the bill. “I think it is
a valid process, number one, and I think it helps aid an overburdened judiciary system.” When
answering my second question, Sands answered that he agrees with Amele that the amount of
incarcerations due to technical violations saying “we’ll definitely see a decrease in imprisonment”
In the end, the bill passed in the senate with a vote of 18 to 4. In effect, all probationers will need
to follow the new swift and certain program to prevent any technical violations from escalating to criminal arrest.