Question

What are the most common and most difficult diversity issues faced as a Parole officer?

Answer 1

Parole is a period of conditional supervision following a prison term - that is, the parolee is subject to being returned to prison for violating the conditions of his or her release. The judge, and the parole agency or parole officer, specifies the conditions the parolee must meet to avoid returning to prison.

The community corrections profession is at the pivot of the entire criminal justice system - in fact, it is the only agency that deals with lawbreakers at each stage of their journey through the criminal justice process. As a result, they frequently experience a range of different types of stress.

Many parole officers experience significant job-related stress. The three most frequent and severe sources of stress for officers are:

• High workloads,

• Unnecessary paperwork, and

• Meeting time limit.

Officers’ Responsibilities vary widely also the strain they may experience vary significantly depending on the particular nature of the work they do and the types of offenders they supervise. Officers experience several other important - but generally less pervasive or severe sources of stress, including:

• Insufficient supervision, such as rarely receiving compliments for work well done,

• Lack of promotional opportunities,

• Low salaries that require them to hold down second jobs,

• Danger of physical assault or threats from offenders,

• Changing or conflicting state, agency, or interoffice policies and procedures,

• Personally accountable for offenders’ misbehavior,

• Inconsistent demands and perceived excessive leniency on the part of courts and judges, and

• Lack of community resources, such as treatment programs, for helping offenders.