New probation chief named

Moose, a 25-year probation veteran, has headed the Division of Community Corrections since former director Robert Guy retired in January. Guy served in the post for 11 years, but left when Gov. Beverly Perdue took office.

Guy's leadership came into question last year following the slayings of Eve Carson, the student body president at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato. One suspect in both slayings and a second suspect in Carson's death were on probation at the time of the killings, but their probation officers failed to keep close tabs on them.

Secretary of Correction Alvin Keller said he narrowed the selection of Guy's replacement to four people from outside North Carolina and three from within the state before picking Moose.

"If you'll look at any organization, you'll find some nicks in an organization. That certainly does not indicate that everyone in the organization is not capable to step up into a leadership position," Keller said.

Keller said he's had the opportunity to see Moose handle the pressure of the job since January and insists Moose has done "an outstanding job."

Moose said he has a different management approach than Guy, and he plans to invest more in technology. He said he wants to learn from the past so repeat offenders don't fall through the cracks again.

"Because we're in the human services business, there's always a risk associated with what we do," he said. "I don't know that we can ever say things can be prevented per se, but we can certainly do a better job at how we manage things."

Moose began his career in 1984 as a probation officer in Wake County. During his tenure, he has managed the division's electronic house arrest program, intensive supervision programs and special operations. Before being named acting director, he served as a special assistant handling the division's legislative and policy issues.

In addition to hiring a new probation chief, Perdue has said she wants to spend $26.5 million over the next two years to toughen the system and improve public and law enforcement access to information about offenders.