CASP has placed offenders of minor, nonviolent crimes at more than 200 not-for-profit agencies to fulfill their court-assigned community service. But, after more than two years of requests from a reporter, the agency is still unwilling to reveal for whom these offenders work and exactly what they do.

If you've stepped up to bench following a driving while intoxicated, minor assault or theft charge, chances good that you're familiar with CASP. The 20-year-old organization places mostly first-time and non-violent offenders with area businesses that benefit from free labor -- in the form of community service.

“If we didn't have CASP, we would need a jail three times the size of the one we have,” said Greene County Presiding Associate Circuit Judge Mark Fitzsimmons.

The organization's director says workers completed 141,497 hours of work in the community last year. But, if you want to know exactly what they do and where they do it, you can't get the information -- at least, KY3 News couldn't. For the last two years, a reporter has repeatedly asked CASP director Gaye Collins for a list of the not-for-profit agencies which benefit from CASP's placement program.

KY3 News wanted to make sure offenders are doing actual work for worthy organizations. We have yet to confirm that.

“I am acting on the direction of legal counsel,” said Collins.

Following our first denial two years ago, KY3 News filed a state Sunshine Law request, which requires public agencies to disclose public information. The request was denied on the grounds that CASP is not a public agency, even though judges send offenders there.

More than two years and dozens of e-mail messages later, Collins still refuses to provide the list of agencies. After denying our requests for an on-camera interview, KY3 News went to CASP’s office to find out why, and confronted Collins.

“Our organizations rely on us to take care of them. Some of them, it might be harmful for them,” Collins said.

“In what way?” a reporter asked.

“I don't know the answer to that,” she said.

Collins also cited competition from other similar organizations.

“We're protecting our business. I doubt you call other stations and say, ‘I have this idea for a news story,’” said Collins.

Collins would tell us offenders do a wide variety of work, including cleaning up trash, yard work, stuffing envelopes, and building Web sites. As far as knowing for sure that it's only not-for-profit agencies that benefit from CASP, it's a question to which KY3 News still doesn't have the answer.

“I guess your viewers are just going to have to trust us. I don't know what else to say,” said Collins.

CASP contracts with the courts in Christian, Dallas, Greene, Laclede, Stone, Taney and Webster counties. It gets no public funds; instead, offenders have to pay an administrative fee to CASP in order to be placed with a not-for-profit agency.

For more information about CASP, visit this Web site.