A former District of Columbia corrections official who resigned amid accusations that he failed to pursue halfway-house escapees is now providing the equipment used to keep 24-hour tabs on pre-release inmates.
Under a five-year, $400,000 annual contract, National Corrections & Rehabilitation Corp. and its partner Satellite Tracking of People LLC are leasing the District GPS monitoring devices to track inmates in community correctional programs. The deal was awarded in July 2006 and the first option year kicked in last week.
Both companies are managed by former D.C. government leaders with ties to the city’s old guard.
Joseph Johnson, founder of both firms, is the former chief of staff to the late D.C. Council Chairman David Clarke and a once-powerful District political operative. Arthur Graves, president of the NCRC and a contractor with STOP, is a former associate director with D.C. corrections who resigned 13 years ago after letting hundreds of criminals escape from halfway houses with little pursuit.
Graves is not monitoring inmates as a contractor, both men said.
“The District tracks the client,” Johnson said. “We are trying to provide for the appropriate client a cost-effective and least-restrictive supervision of offenders, using technology and people to work in tandem to give the offender the best shot at keeping a family, a job and self-respect toward their rehab. Art Graves does not impact on that process whatsoever.”
Graves said he voluntarily retired from his city job in June 1994 after 27 years of service. Published reports from the time indicate the corrections department was in disarray when he left, particularly in the areas of inmate escapes and medical services.
“The monitoring and management of offenders under GPS equipment is provided by the D.C. Department of Corrections Community Services Office,” Graves said in an e-mail. “It is not the contractor responsibility.” Corrections Director Devon Brown declined comment.
