Rockford Police Chief Chet Epperson is criticizing the state Department of Corrections for not notifying him sooner that parolees were living in the city. The Rockford Register-Star reports DOC officials say they follow state law and notify city and county law enforcement agencies at least two weeks before a person is let out of prison.
RRSTAR: Department Of Corrections Defends Parolee Notification System
It's not the first time Epperson has been vocal about the parole system. Epperson has been sounding the alarm about the number of people on probation and parole in Winnebago County.
He recently went to twitter (@chiefepperson) to start a discussion on recidivism. On July 26, he tweeted: "How many in a community should be on probation and parole? Should we accept repeat arrests from those on probation and parole?"
TheIllinois Department of Correctionsprovided WNIJ with the county's parole population by offense category. On select dates from 2008- 2013, Winnebago County parole numbers represented about 3.5% of the state's total parole population.
Rockford's police department is looking into securing a state grant to create a unique database to collect information to track parolees.
