“We’re getting them out of prison faster than we can find people to keep up with them,” said Robert Oakes, director of field services for the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Alabama gained 1,731 new parole cases from September 31, 2003 to March 31, 2004. That growth is nearly twice as many in half the time as the total for September 31, 2002 to September 31, 2003, when the state’s parole cases increased by 973.

The increase in parolees far outpaces the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles’ budget, which grew by about 7 percent last fiscal year, compared to a 15 percent jump in parolees and a 4 percent increase in probationers.

Meanwhile, the state has been losing parole and probation officers faster than it can hire them, according Oakes.

“We can’t fill the positions fast enough because the pay is so low,” said Oakes, who said that last month for the first time in a year there was a net gain in the number of parole and probation officers. Now there are 250 officers working cases statewide, compared with 238 last October, Oakes said.

Probation and parole officers must have a bachelors degree, no criminal record, and must graduate from a police academy. Starting pay is around $27,000 to $28,000, according to Oakes.

With Governor Bob Riley’s plan to parole 5,000 prisoners this year, the probation and parole officers might have tough times ahead.

Oakes said the Montgomery office was among the state’s worst in terms of staffing, with about eight positions currently open.

“It look like there are eight positions open, and when other transfers go into effect, it will be 10,” he said.

The transfers Oakes referred to were enacted in order to comply with Riley’s wishes to parole more prisoners.

The cost of probation and parole, which runs less then $4 per day in Alabama, is about $20 less than the per day cost of incarceration, making supervison a more budget-friendly option than prison.

The Board of Pardons and Paroles had to promote from its field offices to keep up with the parole load.

Meanwhile, officers like Scott Perkins, who works in the Montgomery office, are feeling the brunt of the staffing changes.

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