Probation and Parole Week is observed this week

This week is Probation and Parole Week, which shows appreciation to agents who work with parolees and probationers in the field. Being an agent is often a thankless job, with agents wearing many hats to deal with offenders of every variety.
Supervisor Kyle Doucet said “We supervise probationers who live in the three-parish area (Evangeline, St. Landry, Allen), no matter where they’ve been convicted--it could even be out of state--and parolees who live in the three-parish area, regardless of where they were convicted. We do home visits, and we do referrals, but our number one job is public safety, and then it’s rehabilitation.”
Currently, there are about 2,075 active probation/parole cases in the three-parish area. There are 18 agents working these cases, with an average case load of 130-140 per agent. Sex offender agents, who strictly supervise sex offenders, have 40-50 cases, because they are supervised at an extremely high level. They currently have 10 non-specialized agents and eight specialized agents. The specialists, not including the two sex offender agents, supervise high-profile, violent cases. Non-specialists have the drug and theft cases. Offenders with three or more DWIs are assigned to a specialized agent and are watched closely.
“The people we deal with are the ones the common citizen tries to avoid,” said Doucet. “Public safety is first, and then we try to make the offenders productive citizens. It’s probably one of the most difficult jobs in state government. We are everything to everybody, including the offenders. Anytime the courts, the clerk, the jails, the DOC (Department of Corrections) adult services have a question they call us. To the offenders, we’re their parents, their counselors, officers and investigators. It is probably one of the most difficult jobs you’ll ever love. When you supervise these people and you see one do well and later on you run across them in the store and they thank you, even though you put them in jail, they thank you and it’s all worth it.”
Doucet said it’s a burn-out job where agents are “pulled in ten different directions every day.” This includes helping parolees to get jobs and do whatever they can to keep them out of jail and lead a successful life. “We go above and beyond to help them succeed,” said Doucet. He added the cost of incarceration is high, and the state doesn’t want to raise taxes to put people in jail. He said Louisiana has made progress with the Re-entry Initiative. The state helps offenders in prison to get them ready for an easier transition once they are paroled. This includes anger management, job-readiness, substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling, etc. He said this district doesn’t have as many resources as larger districts, so they are limited.
When asked what resources could better help agents with their jobs, Doucet said they need a women’s shelter, mental health facilities, counseling and drug rehab facilities. “A lot of our offenders have mental health issues,” he said. “And we drive them to drug treatment facilities out of town if they don’t have rides. Whatever we have to do, the agents go above and beyond for these people and for public safety.”
When asked what makes for a successful transition to get a parolee or probationer back on track into society, Doucet said, “Their desire. And the assistance they get from the probation/parole officer goes a long way in helping them. We visit their home. We visit their families. They have to have the desire or what we’re doing is futile.” Doucet said some of the offenders did not have the proper support system growing up. He said some of them do come from good homes, but they make mistakes that land them in the wrong place. He said a majority lack education, but the Re-entry Initiative gives them education and job training, and parole officers become the role models they did not have growing up.
Doucet said there’s a stigma in hiring former convicts. He said this makes it difficult for them to gain employment and get a leg up. He said some times it was a mistake or bad judgement on the offender’s fault. However, he said some continuously make mistakes, and that is a public safety issue. He said jail is a last resort, partly because of the cost, but also because the offenders will be around other convicts who could be bad influences.
In the 29 years Doucet has been at his job, he said the majority of parolees have been younger people. He said there are some career criminals, but many are crimes of passion, which is usually a one-time offender.
When asked if violent offenders are the most difficult to rehabilitate, after some thought Doucet said, “No, because a lot of them are crimes of passion, and those sometimes are the easiest to deal with. To me the worst ones are the DWI cases, because some continue to drink and drive, along with hot-check people, because some will continue to write bad checks. And theft cases.” However, Doucet said domestic abuse cases are different because agents have to go to court or the parole board, telling them it may not be safe to let the offenders out because it might not be safe for the person who was abused. “We don’t take chances with those, because that is a serious public safety issue,” said Doucet.
For Probation and Parole Week, the supervisors and district administrators show their appreciation to the agents by providing chips and dip one day, breakfast another day, etc. He said investigative specialists play a large part in the operations, as well. He said it takes a special type of person to be a parole/probation officer. He said, “You have to learn to be tolerant. If not, you’ll go crazy.” Doucet added, “We are probably the most integral part of the criminal justice system, because we monitor the court system when they’re taking pleas and tell the judge, ‘He is a first offender, second offender, etc.’ We do their offender classes. We have to know the law as well as the lawyers. We assist in sentencing. We assist the jail in releases. We assist DOC. We assist the police officers in investigations.”
When asked about the productivity of the agents he supervises, Doucet said, “You choose this because you want to help. Our district agents are tremendous at what they do. They go above and beyond.”
Doucet added, “You use everything you’ve learned in school and life to do this job. We help these people enter society and be productive members of society. We help courts, we help the jails, we help the offenders, we help the families, we help the victims. It is the hardest job you’ll ever love. One thank you for what you did makes it worthwhile.”