County probation, restorative justice programs intend to merge

LACONIA — County parole and probation services and the restorative justice program could be merged into one department, if approved by commissioners.

The consolidation would pertain to both staff and services for the criminal justice system. 

If pre-trial services, the county’s probation and parole authority, and the restorative justice program become one department, county taxpayers could see a $100,000 benefit to the budget, while retaining essential services offered to the community, according to county leaders.

“It’s a significant reduction, by one full-time employee,” County Administrator Debra Shackett told commissioners during a meeting on Oct. 6.

“For 2026, there is a decrease in payroll,” she said. “That payroll cost of one person is significant.”

Tricia Thompson, executive director of restorative justice, told commissioners at their meeting on Oct. 20 the merger would save the county $137,627. 

“That $137,000 is really representative of one full-time employee, with benefits,” Shackett said.

Restorative justice focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims. In Belknap County, the program also includes court diversion programs and mental health, as well as substance misuse, counseling.

The combined department could consolidate in the county courthouse downtown. Both sets of employees already have their home there. 

Mike MacFadzen, who formerly served as the leader of the county’s restorative justice program, stepped down from that position earlier this year to run for elected office. He’s replaced by Thompson, who, along with jail superintendent Michelle Wetherbee, floated the suggestion to Commissioners Peter Spanos (chair, District 1), Glen Waring (vice chair, District 2) and Stephen Hodges (clerk, District 3).  

“We’re looking for your approval on us integrating pre-trial services into restorative justice,” Thompson told commissioners. “This has been on my to-do list since I started pre-trial back in 2017, because, really, the two programs go together. It’s fiscally responsible to keep them together.”

Thompson said those programs feed other programs in the county, and take some pressure off the court docket as well, because things get adjudicated faster, and people are moving through the criminal justice system more quickly.

“It saves the county money in keeping people out of jail, to get people out of the jail faster, we help assist getting people into treatment,” Thompson said. “You keep people involved in the community as well. The stakeholders are involved, the jail is involved.”

Wetherbee and Thompson collaborated on the plan, taking into account all county employees who would be affected and receiving their feedback. 

“Nothing is really going to change, nothing to the community is going to change, except we’re going to feed them more, we’re going to be more available to them,” Thompson said. “Restorative justice has the ability to have more staff to help with the amount of workload.”

One civilian employee from the jail would come over to restorative justice, bringing their total employee count to four. 

“Pre-trial really has a lot of clients,” Thompson said. “I think currently, today, it’s like 103. They have 10 in treatment currently, they have three waiting to go into treatment which really helps the jail, getting people out of the jail, and we monitor all of those things. We’re giving feedback to the stakeholders, we’re giving feedback to the defense attorneys, prosecutors, and try to come up with those alternatives, which really saves everybody a lot of money, keeps people in the community.”

“We’re still going to work with the jail every day, we’re still going to do what we do,” Thompson said. “If something is breaking down, we’re going to sit down and fix it. How do we fix it, how do we keep this moving forward? I’m anticipating this program is going to blow up, meaning it's going to be bigger.”

The budget for restorative justice will likely increase, Thompson said, because they’ll add another part-time employee. They’ll likely use more paper, but don’t have any full-time employees, so salary is the main concern. 

“One part-time employee that’s currently in pre-trial will move over with restorative [justice], and where she has already the two existing staff, it will provide the offenders with additional services that my one-and-a-half person team currently provides,” Wetherbee said. 

The caseload on pre-trial services is larger, Wetherbee said, and managing the behavior and court appearances of offenders takes work. If restorative justice gains one employee, it would provide a benefit to offenders in that they’ll be able to stay at home longer, get to court, resolve their cases and access services. 

“Hopefully keep them in the community and not the jail, which is a huge undertaking, because we couldn’t hold another 120 people in the jail,” Wetherbee said. 

Combining the departments would allow pre-trial services to be proactive rather than reactive, Thompson said, by assigning tasks to different people. Perhaps somebody to run point on treatment, another for court, and yet another for interviews at the jail.

“You spread the wealth, and it becomes a much more effective system, and it's more efficient, as well,” Thompson said. 

“There are two part-time employees in restorative justice right now who do not have a full workload, and there’s one part-time employee right now in pre-trial services who is inundated. I think that’s one huge benefit, is there’ll now be three-part time, four including the director,” Shackett said. “Right now, we have one person struggling to keep her head above water, and two who can take on more capacities.”