Kansas parole officers are asking the state to arm them just like law enforcement agencies do because of their interactions with dangerous criminals.

The parole officers supervise convicted felons after they get out of prison, and an attorney representing them says two recent incidents highlight the risks they face.

Attorney Steve Bukaty says one parole officer was attacked a few weeks ago by a man who had just gotten off parole, while in December a man whose parole had recently ended broke out a window to get to a second-story ledge of the state parole office and fell to the sidewalk during a struggle with officers.

Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman Jeremy Barclay says there has been a lack of violence against parole officers.

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Associated Press information from: The Wichita Eagle