The Interstate Compact is a federal agreement that provides guidelines for the transfer of offender supervision among all 50 states and most U.S. territories. While there are many criteria offenders wishing to relocate must meet, the basic tests are whether the offender can obtain an approved residence in the receiving state, has a support network (family), and can demonstrate the ability to secure employment or show a visible means of support.
Relocation to Cochise County
Offenders wishing to relocate to Cochise County from the state where they were sentenced must first submit a request through their state compact office. The request is forwarded to Arizona's Deputy Compact Administrator and, if the request meets transfer criteria, it is then sent to Cochise County. A probation officer is assigned the task of completing a background check to ensure the information received was accurate and the case plan is viable. Outgoing cases are handled by a probation officer who maintains the case file and responds to requests from receiving states, including requests to return probationers to Cochise County for probation violation proceedings.
Offenders who are accepted for supervision in Cochise County are distributed among existing caseloads on a geographic basis.