Carl Wicklund has worked in the justice field for 40 years. Currently,
he serves as the executive director of the American Probation and Parole Association.
Before that, he worked as a probation and parole director who maintained a
small caseload of clients. For 20 years, he also worked with youth and adults
on probation in community-based programs.
"Don't judge people through your own set of lenses," says Wicklund. "What
I might think is a reward or punishment may not be for the person I'm supervising."
Wicklund recalls supervising a 300-pound, 6'6" outlaw motorcycle gang member
who was on probation for a serious assault. "I would keep track of his progress
on different conditions of supervision that he had to meet on a chart," he
says. "And when he would meet certain milestones, I'd put a star on there.
And he came in to see me, and I pulled out the chart, and he got almost teary-eyed
because I had neglected to put a star on his chart."
Wicklund has worked with other tough guys, too... some who weren't so tough,
after all.
"Another example is working with 17-year-old gangbangers who nobody else
wants to deal with because they're so hard core, and watching them play for
four or five hours with Legos," he says. "And if you told them
that they couldn't play because they hadn't taken care of things, they'd go
take care of it so they could play."
Melissa Romero is a supervising probation officer in California who has
also worked as a probation officer. (As a supervising probation officer she
supervises other probation officers as well.) She says that being a probation
officer is a very rewarding job because of the changes you witness firsthand.
"I just saw someone the other day -- a young man I supervised in juvenile
probation in 2005," she says. "He's now 25 years old, works at Walmart. It
does reinforce that what we do matters, when those kids come up to you and
say, 'I got a job here, I've been working for 18 months, I haven't used drugs
for 18 months, I'm testing clean for Walmart, have a girlfriend, I don't have
any kids, I'm doing really well now,' and they thank you for whatever influence
you've had in their lives."
The job can be difficult when clients re-enter the judicial system after
committing crimes again, says Romero. However, even if you don't see immediate
results, there can be long-term results down the road, she says.
Romero believes that women have as good a chance of getting ahead in this
field as men do. However, she says some inequality remains around perceptions.
"There is a perception that [a probation officer] should be... a big, strong
guy," she says. "But I think, in actuality, if we really looked at who some
of our senior officers are here, who has been promoted to supervisor, it's
definitely been more progressive in the promotion of females since I've been
here."
Steven Bordin is the chief probation officer of the county of Butte in
California. He also feels that probation is a rewarding career. He says that
good officers have the chance to change peoples' lives for the better.
"An officer will also be responsible for public safety and assisting victims
of crime regain some of what they lost as a result of criminal actions," he
says. "I feel that it is a very rewarding field."
Brent Merchant agrees with Bordin. He's the assistant deputy minister of
a corrections branch. He says that the probation field is good for those who
enjoy a challenge and are interested in public safety.
"You have a unique opportunity to help someone turn their life around,
to actually make a difference," he says. "At the end of the day, there's nothing
more satisfying than that."
One of the most exciting things about the job is the importance of instincts
and intuition. Wicklund says that being confident in these abilities can make
a huge difference for a probation officer.
"Trust in your intuitive abilities may keep you alive in this job," he
says. "Trust in your intuitive abilities may be able to get you to recognize
things that would otherwise be overlooked. Looking strictly at the facts will
not necessarily get you the truth in this job."