Judicial Correction Services

Judicial Correction Services, Incorporated (Delaware) (JCS) is a privately held probation company established in 2001 and based in Georgia. Its CEO is Robert McMichael of Atlanta, GA. The company acts as a self-funding probation agency for local courts, mostly in the southeast United States. The company is part of the private "extra-carceral" or "alternatives to incarceration" industry, which includes private halfway houses, probation services and/or electronic monitoring. This industry, which includes services such as Judicial Correctional Service is "offender-funded", shifting the cost of probation onto probationers. The industry includes private extra-carceral institutions such as halfway houses, probation services and electronic monitoring. In 2008, 2009 and 2010 J.C.S. was listed by Inc.'s as "the fastest growing company in the United States. In 2011 J.C.S was acquired by Correctional Healthcare Companies. In a July 2012 case regarding the contract between Judicial Correction Services and Harpersville, Alabama, Judge Hub Harrington accused JCS of egregious abuses which were akin to "debtors' prison" and an "extortion racket" condoned by the elected officials of Harpersville in their aggressive pursuit of fines owed the Harpersville Municipal Court.

If a person is sentenced to parole for committing a misdemeanor such as the inability to pay traffic fines, J.C.S ensures the probationer meets all the conditions of parole and requires the probationer to pay various fees (in addition to fines) that provide a significant profit to the firm. Persons who are unwilling or unable to pay the fine and fees or who otherwise fail to meet the conditions of parole can be jailed.

J.C.S. operates in an environment where municipal courts across the United States are under considerable financial strain. By instigating the "offender-funded" initiative, that was once financed by government services, offender-funded companies save the public purse while turning a profit.

Aggressive pursuit of these fines and fees can double collections in some areas. On its website, the company claims all the courts it services have increased collections.

By 2009 JCS employed about 300 people and reported revenues of more than thirteen million dollars.

In 2010, JCS had management issues and a restructuring of the command structure. The regional manager had numerous internal and external sexual harassment claims. That supervisor was given the option to resign only after the company received negative publicity. Numerous women were arbitrarily terminated or denied advancement in favor of guys with legit criminal records. That regional manager struck up a friendship with judge sparks and currently runs the birmingham municipal court.

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