By Leischen Stelter, American Military University
Most professionals who work in public safety fields don’t do it for the glory and they certainly don’t do it for the money. Instead, they do it because they want to help others and they want to play a part in keeping the community safe.
But many times, they don’t get the recognition and appreciation they deserve. July 21-27 is Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week, a time to recognize the work and value of this important public safety field. In recognition of this week, I spoke with Peggy Anthony, Chief Probation and Parole Officer of Manassas, VA Probation & Parole. I also spoke with Detective Jeff Bergman, who works in the gang unit of the Fairfax County Police Department, to get his take on the partnership between parole/probation officers and law enforcement.
What it takes to be a probation/parole officer
This month, Anthony marked 23 years working in the field of probation and parole, a career she has enjoyed very much. In order to be successful in this field, she said a probation officer must have several key qualities. First of all, she emphasized that this career path is a calling and that one who pursues it must be passionate about helping others. They must also strongly believe that people can change.
In general, parole officers must be empathetic and they must be able to suspend their judgment. “It’s easy to sit across the table and be judgmental,” she said. But judging someone for their past mistakes is not going to help that person move forward with their lives. “We are here to help them through the best way we can and recognize that they can make a change and things can be better for them,” she said.
The rewards
Being a parole officer can be an extremely rewarding career, said Anthony. She has held many different positions throughout her 23-year career and no two days have been the same. She has seen many people succeed and change their lives on probation, more than most people realize. Virginia, for example, has a 23.4% recidivism rate, significantly lower than the national rates. “That tells you there are a large percentage of people who do really well and it’s satisfying to see people turn their lives around,” she said. “I’ve see it a number of times, where a criminal past and supervision does not stop people from succeeding in life.”
The disappointments
Sometimes it can be hard for parole officers to understand that they are part of the process toward change, but that they themselves cannot actually make the change. It’s up to the person under supervision to choose to change. “Probation officers must accept failure when someone doesn’t do the things they need to do to improve their life,” she said. “You have to be willing to acknowledge that not every case is going to be a success.” Officers must also recognize that their primary goal is public safety and they must always base their decisions on ensuring that the public is safe.
Value of ongoing partnerships with Law Enforcement
Many law enforcement officers now understand the value and challenges of parole and probation officers. Detective Jeff Bergman, who works in the gang unit of the Fairfax County Police Department, has been a police officer for 22 years, working in the gang unit for 11 years. “When I first started, Department of Corrections’ officers and probation officers were sort of an underutilized and overlooked part of law enforcement. We never really thought about how valuable incarcerated [and recently released] individuals would be to our gang investigations,” he said.
However, Bergman spent several years building formal partnerships with the Department of Corrections. He said these relationships have led to improved intelligence sharing between the agencies and assisted police in identifying and tracking gang members, as well as solve numerous crimes. And the recognition by law enforcement of the value and role of probation and parole officers continues to increase.
“I have grown over the years to recognize how important they are to public safety,” he said. “I consider them our equals and part of the team.”
This week, be sure to thank a probation or parole officer for the work they do to protect the public.
About the Author:
Leischen Stelter is part of the public safety outreach team at American Military University. She writes about issues and trends relevant to professionals in corrections, law enforcement, fire services, emergency management and national security. Visit AMU’s blog, In Public Safety, to read many more columns and commentary of interest to public safety professionals. In addition, you can follow her on Twitter @AMUCorrections and on Facebook.