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New York, 11:17 AM
Sat Nov 21
67 posts in the last 24 hours
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Most PO agencies follow a Best Practices Model: concentrate most of your efforts on those most dangerous offenders, those that will most likely reoffend.
The theory goes that, if someone has been evaluated as low risk, they are most likely going to be compliant with the Court's conditions. Think of a first-time DUI offender who's arrest has scared the pants off of him, has a lot to lose and is afraid of jail. Not every time, but most of the time, this person is going to comply with what he has to do to stay out of trouble.
I'm willing to bet that once Garrido was classified as Low Risk (although how that happened with him being a violent sex offender is beyond me) he was not was not scrutinized as frequently or thoroughly as other, seemingly more pressing, cases.
For me, caseloads were so high, the training and support were so lacking, and the probability of "High Risk" parolees reoffending so great, that my worst nightmare, the one that actually woke me up at night, was the one where one of the offenders on my caseload had done some unspeakable act to another human, and that it was all over the news. Thankfully this never actually happened (that I know of...)
One more thing that may have played into the Parole Officers' lack of supervision, both actual and perceived, is that these violent, psychopathic, sexually sadistic, and frightening offenders require such a high level supervision and immersion into their dark, sordid minds, that in some ways, it was a relief to have a couple of "Low Risk" offenders on the caseload.
You can see how that would backfire.
And yes, I'm a former Probation Officer. #phillipgarrido
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I too can't think of a state where this is not the case. This is one reason why lots of states are farming out prisons to private enterprises with the lowest bids, just to save a little money. Ideally they'd be raising taxes, reforming drug punishments, and hiring more parole and probation officers, but of course anyone who proposes that would be shot down and never get re-elected. People hate taxes, and they hate "criminals" even more. "More walls and fewer rights" is the refrain regarding prisoners. #phillipgarrido
11/05/09
Before they do anything like that, they'll need to go back and *heavily* scrutinize their low-level parolees, to make sure that is where they really should be classified.
What a mess.
#clusterfsck
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Are there any lawyers out there who can tell us if that is permissible? #phillipgarrido
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Well, that depends on what your perspective is. If you're grading them on Overal Suck, they get an A-. #phillipgarrido
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Sex offenders, generally speaking, offend because it makes them feel better about themselves. So, Offender A touches little girls because it makes him feel better. Offender A gets caught, is sent to jail, and gets released a few years later. Offender A is then put on a registry list where he has to go to his neighbors houses and tell them that he is on the list. A parole officer often comes by Offender A's house to remind him that he is a piece of crap and no one likes him. Offender A's neighbors have made it well known that they dont' want him living there, to a point where he is looking to move, but he can't move anywhere really because of zoning laws that restrict his living abilities. He can't get a job because he has to disclose that he is an offender. How do you think Offender A is feeling? Shitty. How does Offender A make himself feel better? Offending. Continue Cycle.
In all, while registries are a great idea for protecting society, sex offenders who are given proper treatment actually do not re-offend as much as many other types of criminals, and people are most likely to be offended against by people they know, not the bogeyman who jumps out of a bush and attacks them. So, registries = more stress on both society and the offender which = bad things. #phillipgarrido
11/05/09
Who the hell can ever become normal when their entire life is about the worst thing they ever did? #phillipgarrido
11/05/09
Also, to anyone who is reading this: may I suggest "The Woodsman" with Kevin Bacon...it's what I make people watch when they ask me why I do what I do. I saw that movie and cried because I felt like someone else understood what I was trying to talk about. #phillipgarrido
11/05/09
These jobs should be reserved for the best and brightest, and should be respected like people respect doctors and lawyers who work at expensive firms, but they're not. And then we wonder how we got ourselves into this world where those in vital but under-resourced and under-respected jobs just want to punch the clock. #phillipgarrido
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But the way things are set up they drive away a lot of people who have the skills to get work elsewhere. If you're going to a law school that's making you pay out the nose, the $10,000 a year the government is giving you (with a lifetime cap of $60,000) you can't afford to become a public defender.
The system is set up in such a way that it drives away well-qualified people who aren't extremely passionate about working as a civil servant and that shouldn't be the case.
(Also I think DC is a bit of a special case) #phillipgarrido
11/05/09
I do think it's true that there are many people who whether worn down by the environment and bad pay over time or just beginning this way, do a shitty job in their shitty job because they have little incentive to do better.
That said, I must reiterate that public defenders are some of my favorite people. #phillipgarrido
11/05/09
It shouldn't be that way. It should be like working in regular law firm. You shouldn't have to martyr yourself with extreme caseloads to do the job. #phillipgarrido
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I would like to know this, though. Is this a case of overwork/understaffing? Individuals? A systemic problem? I want to know what happened in this particular case. #phillipgarrido
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