Introduction
Law is one of the pillars ensuring society’s correct and practical work. It creates the framework for interactions between individuals and guarantees citizens can feel safe and enjoy access to all the benefits the law offers them. This means that people working in this sphere have a unique responsibility. They play a central role in observing existing regulations and protecting people. For this reason, specialists need to have the necessary skills, knowledge, and understanding of the recent trends in research to implement them in practice. In such a way, the central purpose of this paper is to present skills and experiences peculiar to an individual working as a probation officer and discuss the importance of scientific knowledge for formulating policy changes that might help to attain better outcomes.
Thus, the paper has three sections devoted to the aspects mentioned above. The first one summarizes my experiences at the internship to promote an enhanced understanding of how the discussed unit works and outline the skills and knowledge necessary to work there. The second section introduces a research question linked to the sphere of probation and reviews the three peer-reviewed articles to answer it. Finally, the last part of the paper offers policies for promoting positive change based on the skills and knowledge acquired. Thus, the probation officer’s work requires specific experience and data from the latest research to ensure they can promote positive change and enhance the lives of communities around them. It is one of the most critical tasks of specialists working in law.
Summary of Internship
During my internship, I worked in the County of Los Angeles Probation Department in Compton, CA. It was a perfect opportunity to investigate the institution’s work and understand the importance of the duties and tasks performed by individuals. Thus, probation is a sanction existing within the court system and implies that a person considered guilty of committing a crime might be given an alternative to incarceration.
Thus, the LAC Probation Department supervises around 12,000 state parolees following the California Prison Realignment Plan (“About Probation,” n.d.). Moreover, 60,000 adult probationers are supervised by the agency. It also supervises about 900 at-home probation youth (“About Probation,” n.d.). In such a way, the agency ensures that individuals put on probation have the chance to work for communities and avoid being incarcerated by serving their communities.
Furthermore, the agency focuses on cultivating higher public awareness and education levels to foster an enhanced understanding of its operations and current objectives and ensure better integration with society. This means that officers working within the agency have the perfect chance to interact directly with people on probation, ensure that they work to develop communities, and help them. At the same time, resolving problems while supervising parolees and probationers who are provided with various tasks or assignments is possible.
LAC Probation Department has a specific vision, mission, and goals necessary for the agency’s work. Thus, its mission is to enhance public safety, ensure victims’ rights, and effect positive probationer behavioral change (“Vision, mission, and values,” n.d.). The vision is closely linked to the given mission and implies rebuilding lives and providing healthier and safer communities (“Vision, mission, and values,” n.d.). The mission and vision explain what the agency does and the primary duties of all specialists. Working there, everyone should understand that promoting behavioral change within individuals is essential as it is an integral part of probation. Moreover, the agency introduces and maintains numerous social and community programs for better results.
Several factors evidence the effectiveness of the agency’s work and its positive impact on the community. For instance, it organizes local fairs to promote better member cooperation. Furthermore, the LAC Probation Department organizes and supports various activities as part of the work with the people under their supervision. The officers also align interaction with the community and its members to ensure better mutual understanding (“About Probation,” n.d.). In such a way, the agency follows its mission and vision and tries to educate individuals and promote positive change in them. This means that the LAC probation department is necessary for local society as it ensures the safety of all members and creates the basis for its evolution.
However, during the internship, I had the chance to realize that the agency faces several challenges. For instance, there is a lack of resources that might be employed to create more community programs and ensure individuals on parole have access to them. Moreover, the LAC Probation Department might monitor domestic violence cases and try to reduce their number (“About Probation,” n.d.). However, there is a lack of tools for reporting and effective family control to ensure that domestic violence cases are correctly and adequately addressed. In such a way, the agency might face several difficulties; however, it works hard to overcome them and guarantees stable and continuous work focused on the community’s improvement.
Working at the agency during my internship, I had an opportunity to engage in various processes and improve my knowledge and skills. My responsibilities included working with papers linked to the cases and structuring them to ensure there were no mistakes and correct reporting. Moreover, under the supervision of a more experienced specialist, I worked with individuals on parole and analyzed their cases to determine the type of community service appropriate for them. Additionally, I worked with the at-home probation youth to ensure they followed all recommendations and were ready to change their behaviors to become part of a community and integrate with it.
Furthermore, the internship became a perfect opportunity for developing skills and acquiring knowledge necessary for my future career. For instance, working with data, I developed my computer literacy skills as additional applications were used to structure and process it. Second, being a part of a team, I had to interact with others and cooperate with community members. For this reason, my communication skills were also improved. Furthermore, my critical thinking and analytics abilities were enhanced because I needed to use them in practice. Finally, I learned how to apply and use theoretical knowledge gained through my learning in real-life situations. For this reason, I think it was an essential step toward my professional development.
I can draw several conclusions by summarizing my experience gained during the internship. First, the attitude to the criminal justice system has altered. Previously, it was perceived as a complex system detached from ordinary individuals and communities. However, working as part of the LAC Probation Department, I discovered that the criminal justice system is a critical part of society and critically depends on all individuals operating within it. Thus, the work of every specialist, such as a probation officer, is to make the system closer to every community member and ensure every case is considered unique. It is an essential task of the probation officer, which is vital for the evolution of society.
At the moment, I want to continue building my career in the sphere of the criminal justice system. However, the experience gained during the internship shows that it is a more complex and complicated sphere than imagined. Successful career-building requires enhancing communication and critical analysis skills and continuous broadening of knowledge linked to the area. For this reason, my education expectations are to find additional courses to acquire new skills necessary for a specialist working in criminal justice.
Altogether, I am sure that the internship was an excellent opportunity to enhance my personal and professional skills and knowledge. As a LAC Probation Department member, I understood how probation works and its significant peculiarities. Moreover, I realized the fundamental goals of the agency and its role in the work and development of communities. For this reason, I think that the internship was critical for my future. It also helped me plan my future professional and personal development. Now, I realize the knowledge and skills that should be acquired for successful career-building. At the same time, it outlined the problems that should be investigated additionally to contribute to better community work.
Review of Articles
The experiences acquired from working in real-life conditions help us realize the existence of specific problems impacting the sphere and the need for resolution. For instance, the mental health of individuals is one of the critical aspects that should be considered when working with them. The scope of the problem is evidenced by the fact that the number of people suffering from mental illnesses continues to increase annually. For probation officers and the sphere of law, there is an urgent need to improve their work to ensure that the unique needs of these individuals with mental health conditions are considered. In this regard, the following research question can be formulated:
How can probation officers improve working with people on probation with mental health issues to reduce recidivism and align better cooperation with them?
Answering the question implies reviewing the existing research on the topic to determine possible solutions and ways to attain improvement.
Thus, the problem of mental illness and probation has been investigated by numerous researchers. For instance, Brooker et al. (2023) in their study say that there are incredibly high rates of severe mental disease and co-occurring mental health disorders among prison and probation populations (Brooker et al., 2023). Compared to the general population, mental health issues are more prevalent among these populations. It means there is a critical need for new methods to cooperate with this cohort. Brooker et al. (2023) assume that understanding how to improve health outcomes for people on probation is one of the critical tasks nowadays. It is directly linked to various probation centers’ work and helps reduce health inequalities across the state. Considering the growing number of people with mental health conditions, the problem becomes critical and requires much attention.
At the same time, implementing unique approaches to consider mental health issues during probation might be a complex issue because of several challenges. For instance, Van Deinse et al. (2021) admit that specialized probation requires much attention as there is a lack of officers, chiefs, and infrastructure to implement necessary changes. At the same time, it is a widespread practice, with more than 130 agencies reporting the successful implementation of mental health probation caseloads (Van Deinse et al., 2021).
The need for the integration of this practice is explained by the high prevalence of mental illness among people under supervision, the national call for specific approaches, and the increasing number of research on the issue (Van Deinse et al., 2021). However, the shift to new methods might be complicated because all actors lack preparedness. For this reason, there is a need for further investigation and positive change.
In such a way, the research shows that mental health issues have become more topical for the sphere and require attention. It means that officers acquire an additional task to monitor this aspect of individuals’ well-being and cultivate it. Furthermore, Bares and Mowen (2019) assume that parole officers can be an essential source of social support for all returning persons.
The problem is that, in most cases, recently released people have limited access to resources necessary for survival and functioning (Bares & Mowen, 2019). It is also relevant regarding mental health problems as the lack of support and necessary treatment might lead to the severe deterioration of the situation and high recidivism rates. Under these conditions, parole officers might play an essential role in promoting the positive shift towards considering mental health issues and making new practices part of their everyday lives.
The three analyzed articles emphasize the increased importance of mental health issues for the probation officer’s work. The research evidences the fact that many people who return from prisons or persons on probation suffer from the discussed condition. The lack of attention to these factors might lead to the emergence of a more complex situation and poor results. For this reason, there is a critical need to address the problem and introduce specific changes in the system’s work. Furthermore, the articles show that parole officers might be more active players and support the change by acquiring new competencies and skills to help individuals feel better and avoid recidivism or new cases.
Altogether, the selected research articles prove the research question’s relevance. Probation officers should be aware of the growing number of individuals suffering from mental health issues and be ready to provide appropriate help to them. It might require additional training and change in the current approach; however, recent research shows that it would positively impact the current situation and reduce recidivism and the number of new cases. Furthermore, parole officers might be a part of the social support mechanism for all categories of people and guarantee they do not suffer from the lack of support or the inability to access necessary resources. For this reason, the topic is essential for the research and should be given much attention.
Policy Recommendations
In such a way, the information provided above and the personal experience acquired during the internship help to formulate specific policies. Thus, the growing number of mental health issues requires a higher level of preparedness among parole officers. For this reason, one of the first possible policy recommendations is to offer regular and continuous specialized training for specialists working with individuals released from prisons or those who are on probation. The training should be aligned with the existing challenges and issues impacting the well-being of the discussed cohort. Furthermore, the training should consider that probation officers might lack the resources necessary for implementing specialty mental health probation (Van Denise et al., 2021).
For this reason, the training should be organized regarding the available resources and the opportunity to find them. In such a way, the training should focus on the following aspects: communication, evaluation of individuals’ current needs, analysis of their current mental health condition, and provision of the necessary support. In many cases, parole officers lack the understanding and skills to work with individuals with this problem. Moreover, they might be scared or misinformed about the methods employed.
For this reason, training is necessary and would help attain enhanced outcomes. A better understanding of the current individuals’ needs will reduce recidivism and guarantee the enhanced effectiveness of probation (Brooker et al., 2023). For this reason, it becomes essential to create the basis for the training and education of all officers working with individuals with mental health issues.
The second policy change implies promoting cross-sector collaboration with the active involvement of the parole officers. The research shows that strengthening the professional relationship between the parole officer and a person who returns from prison might positively impact outcomes (Bares & Mowen, 2020). At the same time, sufficient social support is central to the successful reentry process (Bares & Mowen, 2020). It will ensure that a person will integrate with society’s work and avoid committing new crimes.
Unfortunately, in many cases, agencies such as the LAC Probation Department lack an understanding of what support is required. The statement is especially relevant regarding mental health issues, as these people require specific assistance. Under these conditions, the cooperation between the parole officers and other sectors, such as mental health institutions and social agencies, might promote better outcomes.
At the moment, officers lack the authority, competency, and skills to engage in cross-sector collaboration to guarantee that the needs of people under supervision are considered. The proposed policy implies that a parole officer will receive the appropriate training and opportunities to start cooperating with specialists in case the person’s condition should be evaluated. It will help to acquire an enhanced understanding of every case and select the most effective approach to working with them.
Conclusion
In such a way, the proposed policy recommendations arise from the existing problem and its topicality. To ensure better outcomes, an officer should be ready to consider the relevant and up-to-date data and use it to avoid undesired results. Officers should be more active in reconsidering the sector’s work and building better relations with returning individuals with specific needs.
References
About probation. (n.d.). County of Los Angeles Probation. Web.
Bares, K. J., & Mowen, T. J. (2020). Examining the parole officer as a mechanism of social support during reentry from prison. Crime and Delinquency, 66(6-7), 1023–1051. Web.
Brooker, C., Sirdifield, C., & van Deinse, T. (2023). Serious mental illness in probation: A review. European Journal of Probation, 15(1), 60–70. Web.
Van Deinse, T. B., Crable, E. L., Dunn, C., Weis, J., & Cuddeback, G. (2021). Probation officers’ and supervisors’ perspectives on critical resources for implementing specialty mental health probation. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 48(3), 408–419. Web.
Vision, mission, and values. (n.d.). County of Los Angeles Probation. Web.