Tier III sex offender in Libby creates change for parole officers

The relocation of Tier-3 sex offender Kris Hedahl to Libby has forced changes in the monitoring processes used by the local office of Adult Probation and Parole. 

The Libby officers, Steve Watson and Darrell Vanderhoef, juggle a heavy case load of offenders, some recently released from prison or jail, some sentenced to probation without incarceration. Each offender is assigned a different program, Watson said, based upon their specific case.

The officers balance a number of factors when evaluating their probationers, factors such as the potential threat the offender poses to society, the severity of the violation for which they were sentenced, the likelihood of being able to change the offenders’ behavior and the type of offender with which they’re dealing.

In Hedahl’s case, the Department of Corrections assessed a Tier-3 rating, which is highest level. According to the Montana Department of Justice, a Tier-3 sexual offender is defined as: “The risk of a repeat sexual offense is high, there is a threat to public safety and an evaluator believes the offender is a sexually violent predator.”

David Dowell, the Probation and Parole supervisor, said the designation of Tier-3 is an assessment of the likelihood of re-offending, not a prediction of future behavior. 

Hedahl’s sentence, Dowell said, will be up in 2020 and he would be released without conditions at that time, beyond being registered as a sex offender. His early release, coupled with the conditions imposed by the parole board, provides an adjustment period for him to reenter society and allows law enforcement to monitor him more closely in the interest of protecting public safety.

“He was going to be released in 2020, which would be an unsupervised release,” Dowell said. “It’s better to have a monitored release.”

One of the tools being used in Hedahl’s case is a GPS-monitoring device. Hedahl is required to wear the device at all times. 

Watson, Hedahl’s probation officer, has secure access through his computer to a complete record of Hedahl’s movements at any time. Watson checks the GPS record every morning when he comes into the office, something he’s never had to do in his 14-year career with the department. The computer displays green dots on a map showing Hedahl’s location on a minute-by-minute basis. Watson uses what he termed “clusters” of the dots to determine locations at which Hedahl spends any length of time and then verifies those locations against places he is both approved to be and prohibited from being. 

Prohibited locations include schools, bus stops and other locations where children gather, which created an instant issue during Hedahl’s relocation. His address on McKay Street was approved by the department, but it sits on a corner at which a school bus stop is located. Because the bus stop’s address is on the other cross-street, the proximity to Hedahl’s address was not noted. Once authorities were informed of the issue, the school district agreed to move the bus stop a suitable distance away from Hedahl’s house.

Dowell said the idea of probation and parole is to help offenders change their behavior such that they no longer pose a threat to society.

“We want them to succeed in the community,” he said. “We want them to be productive members of society.”

The keys to successful completion of probation or parole, Watson said, are respect and honesty.

“The first thing I tell my people is that if you’re honest with me, I can help you,” Watson said. “Honesty is the first step toward solving the problem. If they’re lying about what they’ve done or are doing, it makes it much more difficult. I give them respect and I hope to get respect back.”

Violations of the terms of probation or parole can result in a number of consequences, depending upon factors such as the initial offense and the type of violation. Watson said the bulk of his offenders have substance abuse issues and temporary setbacks in those kinds of cases don’t generally warrant revocation hearings. 

“Most of the stuff we deal with is substance abuse related,” he said. “We use stern talks and 72-hour holds to try to steer those folks back in the right direction. We have to evaluate them individually to determine if they pose a risk to public safety.”

In Hedahl’s case, Watson and Dowell said they will be much more strict, anticipating that any kind of violation of his conditions could result in an immediate petition to revoke his parole and send him back to prison.

“Our No. 1 emphasis on this case, as with any other, is going to be public safety,” Dowell said.

Watson said his objective with Hedahl, as with his other probationers, is to keep them from re-offending.

“My job isn’t to judge these people,” he said. “They’ve already been through that. My job is to help them not re-offend. Beating them down is often a trigger that pushes them to re-offend.”