Every once in a while...

Every once in a long while this lonely Gunslinger gets good tidings that all the hours spent in the Office (or out of the office as the case may be) are well spent. This week, I received two tidings of a job well done.

Bit of good job news #1. Two weeks ago I was asked to conduct a home visit by the Senior Agent on my team (aka Work Mom, story for another day). She told me that one of her offenders was being investigated by Child Protective Services (a branch of the Department of Social Services). She left out the part about why they were investigating, only stated that when the CPS caseworker went to the Offenders house the door was slammed in her face. The caseworker, knowing that the Offender is on probation, called us for help getting into the house. She stressed that it was strictly observe and report, get in, see what (who) is there and get out of Dodge.

I get the address and the information of the offender and head out. Upon arrival in the neighborhood I spot the obligatory harrier holding down the street corner texting his friends that the Police have arrived. I pull in front of the house and note that it looks a little more run down that some of the other houses. I perform the standard Police knock and within seconds the door opens. As the woman steps out onto the front porch (closing the door behind her) I give her the spiel of who I am, who I work for, and why I was there (Home visit on Offender So and So, not O and R mission for DSS).

She proceeded to give me story about the fact that the Subject in question was not at home and that he was doing some medical errands. I then asked if she resided at the house and she told me that she was only babysitting for the Offender. At this point I move to the matter at hand and start throwing my legal weight around. I tell her that as a part of my duties I have to check the premises for contraband, guns, drugs, meth labs...nuclear devices. She then told me that she did not feel comfortable letting me into the house. Really...badge, gun, handcuffs, big toothy grin that makes the lady folk swoon, Crown Victoria in the background, what is there not to feel comfortable about.

I eventually gain entry via another person in the home familiar with the rules of Probation and Home visits in general. During my walk through of the home I noted several things that, had my task oriented mind set not been solely focused on Observe and Report, would have warranted an immediate call to DSS. The list being, complete lack of food for the multiple Adults in the home and the three children, lack of proper bedding for the children, what I believe to be dog urine covering the kitchen floor, Drug paraphernalia in a bed room, and a floor heating vent with out a cover not five feet where a 1 1/2 year old had been bedded down in the floor and left unattended.

The floor vent cover issue was dealt with right then and there due to the safety of the children being at risk. The Drug Paraphernalia (being a 2 3/4 inch pipe of black and chrome color commonly used in the smoking of Marijuana) was left alone as a matter of Probation and Parole policy (and being out numbered).

When I left the home I went back to the office and reported what I observed. Work Mom then reported this to the caseworker for CPS and the next day I was asked to write a letter of everything that I observed. Just in case anyone missed it, I tend to be long winded in my writing (which is a complete contradiction to when I speak). The letter/affidavit was 2 pages long encompassing everything that I did, said, and saw. When I turned in the letter/affidavit to Work Mom, she proclaimed, "What the H#*& is this! All you needed to put was what you saw. Not everything you did from the second you left the Office! Jesus...did you mention how many breaths you took while you were there?!" "You wanted what I saw. That's what I saw and the context of what I saw." "Yeah...context. Did you proofread it?" "No, I just spell checked it and hoped the defense attorneys wouldn't notice (sarcasm)." The conversation went down hill from there. Eventually she got around to sending the letter/affidavit to the caseworker.

Moving forward to yesterday. I learned from Casey that the letter/affidavit was put to good use. The day after the caseworker got it, she went to the house with several Deputies and attempted to place the children in Emergency Protective Custody (EPC). However, by that time the Offender and his family had moved to a location unknown. But, they did show up to a family court hearing with the children. The caseworker was waiting and the children where promptly taken. I am not sure how well the state takes care of EPC children, but I am certain that they are in better care than the parents were giving them. They also might have a chance to not be career criminals.

Bit of good job news #2 is more my faith in the Judicial system is restored. Today I went to court. If you have kept up, you know that this is the worst part of the job for me. However, today was okay. We had a new General Sessions Judge, at least he was new to the Probation revocation aspect of General Sessions. His motto for the day, "Probation was your 2nd chance, you don't get a 3rd." He may have been slower than the usual Judges and a little more thorough, but of the sixty plus offenders that went before him, only a handful walked out of the courtroom without the aid of the Deputies. A few of those that walked out were due to the fact that they wanted a Defense Attorney and did not have one, so, he allowed them the chance to get council. The others, the Probation Agents (including myself) had to beg the Judge not to make them guests of the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

As an example, one of my cases was a warrant for purely money violation (failing to pay accounts balances before probation case ended). The Defense Attorney and I had to convince the Judge not to send the Offender to prison for 4 years due to the fact that he had paid all the money since the warrant was served.

It was an interesting feeling not having to fight hammer and tongs to send someone to SCDC for a year, when they are on Probation for 9th time for Assault and Battery and committed numerous other assaultive offenses while on Probation. Too bad this Judge was just here temporarily and will not be back until sometime next year. But, at least we know at least one Judge cares about Offenders keeping their end of the bargain.

Semper Fi Deus

Goose