Verified Document

Parole Agent Interview With Parole Interview

They get out and go back to doing whatever got them into prison. 8. What kind of work might you have done instead?

I don't really know. I guess that I still want to try to fix the system that keeps men just recycling in and out of prison. This isn't that job. I really think that I do my job well, but the system isn't designed to keep people from reoffending. So I guess, I don't know, maybe a psychologist or something like that. To try to figure out what makes people act the way they do.

9. What advice do you have for someone entering the field?

Wow. That's a big question. I guess that overall I would encourage people to enter the field. it's got a lot of job security and has good benefits, and that's something that students don't necessarily think about when they're just starting off, but those things really do matter as you get older.

And I do find the work rewarding, despite what I just said. It can be frustrating at times. It is frustrating a lot of the time. But then there are guys who are genuinely trying to get their lives in order. And sometimes you're just the person who can help them get back on the right road. That feels great.

10. What makes a good parole agent?

This might sound strange, but I think that the most important quality for a good agent is being organized. I have being 40 and 50 offenders on my list all the time. And they each have different conditions they have to meet. I have to keep track of all of that, and I have to know each one well...

A lot of the guys, they're already trying to run some scam.
11. How do you keep current?

My department is really good about bringing people in to give seminars about topics in the field. We can go to workshops too, although right now that's being cut because of the budget. And I actually learn a lot from other agents. I try to keep up on reading -- journals, and bulletins from the FBI. I have also taken a few psychology classes at the community college here. I get my tuition paid for and I get time off to do that. That's a great deal.

12. What are some of the future trends in the field?

That's really hard to say because how the department is run is affected a lot by politics. When people want to get tough on crime, there are new laws and parole has to be tougher on everyone. When a different group gets voted in, all of the rules change. I don't think that cycle will change.

I guess one thing I think might change -- that I think should change -- is that there is a shift right now toward offering more counseling to parolees. So I'd like to know more about therapy, what works, how I can support it. And how offenders can try to game the system there too.

This California parole agent is actually my brother-in-law.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Law Enforcement Interview Synthesis Introduction
Words: 1430 Length: 5 Document Type: Thesis

While he agrees that ethics training plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of the profession and insulating it from corruption, the detective believes that societal dynamics are more important in that sense than any kind of formal training. Theories of Police Misconduct: The special agent expressed the belief that criminality has many different causes and that they operate both individually and in myriad combinations in different people. He acknowledges

Law Enforcement - Interviews Law
Words: 3243 Length: 12 Document Type: Term Paper

Q: Do you think continual education and/or training in police ethics would reduce incidents of police corruption? A: Again, it depends entirely on the type of continual education and training we're talking about: repeating simplistic ethical training scenarios originally presented in the academy is even less effective with respect to seasoned police veterans than with respect to rookies or trainees. On the other hand, if we're talking about a well-designed

German-Americans Recently, Increasing Numbers of
Words: 2959 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

In 1942, they were two of the Germans who were picked up by the FBI. Several FBI agents with machine guns entered the H.I. Voss Engineering Company in Bronx, New York, and arrested Alfred Heitmann. This may have been related to the German submarine landing on Long Island, which resulted in a great deal of war hysteria that made many people believe that German spies were everywhere in New

Adolescent Substance Use Screening Instruments: 10-Year Critical
Words: 14685 Length: 53 Document Type: Term Paper

Adolescent Substance Use Screening Instruments: 10-Year Critical Review of the Research Literature Over ten million teenagers in the United States admit in a national survey that they drink alcohol, although it is illegal under the age of 21 in all states. In some studies, nearly one-quarter of school-age children both smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. Over four thousand adolescents every day try marijuana for the first time. The dangers of use,

Regionalism Regional Identity
Words: 1837 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

Regional Identity and Its Literal Purpose Regionalism is a common sense of identity. It is an expression of an identity that shapes activities in a particular geographical region. In early 1980's regions resurgence of regional self-consciousness was part of the general democratization process. Members of different regions, minorities and majorities, reclaimed what they considered as history leading to regional development. The process of increasing social and political awareness has led to

Social Work - Biopsychosocial Case
Words: 4418 Length: 15 Document Type: Term Paper

She did not have the benefit of a bedroom door for the last two years of high school. Without the bedroom door, the client changed her clothes in the bathroom and was often unable to sleep at night because of her father's snoring. The first time her mother confronted her for being wide awake (and reading) in her room in the middle of the night, the client admitted that her

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now