Sec. 1. 34-A MRSA §5404, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1995, c. 502, Pt. F, §§38 to 40, is further amended to read:

3. Supervision. Supervise persons as follows:

A. Supervise the probation, parole or intensive supervision of each person placed under the officer's supervision;

B. Supervise persons released from a correctional facility under section 3035 or 3036 and supervise persons transferred to supervised community confinement under section 3036-A if the commissioner directs;

C. Keep informed of the conduct and condition of each person placed under the officer's supervision and use suitable methods to encourage the person to improve that person's conduct and condition; and

E. Supervise the transition from institutional confinement for persons residing in a prerelease center if the commissioner directs.

In addition to the requirements under this subsection and notwithstanding any department rule, a probation officer shall meet in person with a probationer at least once every 3 months.__At each such meeting the probation officer and the probationer shall sign a report verifying that the meeting occurred, and the probation officer shall provide the probationer with a copy of the report.__The probation officer and the probationer shall each mail or deliver to the court a copy of the report as proof that each meeting occurred.__If the probation officer fails to produce the report, the department shall reprimand that probation officer.__The department is responsible for ensuring that the quarterly in- person meetings with probationers occur and that documentation of those meetings is filed in a timely manner with the court.

SUMMARY

This bill requires a probation officer to meet at least once every 3 months in person with a probationer. At these meetings, both the probation officer and the probationer shall sign a report verifying the meeting occurred, and both shall forward a copy of the report to the court. The Department of Corrections shall reprimand a probation officer who fails to comply with these requirements.