About midway through my career with the Probation Department, we were introduced to tasers.  It was a great tool to gain compliance, and didn’t cause any long term, real damage.  When we went through the training, we all got a dose; we tased ourselves.  It is a very crippling feeling, it locks the muscles, and... Continue Reading →

“Oooh I’m so scared, I’m shaking in my boots.”  - An old saying to sarcastically tell someone their threats are not intimidating.   After a long time and multiple attempts, I was finally promoted from Deputy Probation Officer to Senior Probation Officer.  To me, it was a big deal.  I was now the second in... Continue Reading →

Years ago, Dan, Dave, my brother Chris, and I went for a surf in San Diego at Blacks Beach.  Blacks was mostly known for its smooth but aggressive waves.  It was also a known nude beach.  You had to navigate through a lot nudity to get to the water.  It wasn’t as cool as you... Continue Reading →

I’ve found there are two styles of supervising someone on probation.  Some officers are more laid back and allow errors to happen.  If the probationer doesn’t want to cooperate, he always has a choice.  He is an adult and can do what he wants.  If he doesn’t want to change, there are consequences and it's... Continue Reading →

When I got my start in Probation, there was a lot of training. One part was radio codes. When we went on dispatch to tell them what we were doing, in the name of efficiency we would announce a code.  It was just numbers instead of words.  There was one for transport to jail, one... Continue Reading →

“Some men just want to watch the world burn” - Alfred Pennyworth. I never thought evil people were real.  Naive, I know.  I thought true cruelty and drama only existed in movies, until I started working at probation.  Not all probationers are bad, but some were just rotten to the core.  I remember two in... Continue Reading →

What makes someone attractive?  Everyone looks good with a smile.  When you see someone smile it calms the soul and makes you feel like everything is going to be okay.  There is something primitive about that.  But that’s good looking, not attractive.  Being attractive means people are drawn to you.  What makes someone want to... Continue Reading →

Due to some drama in the city, the Probation Department was not popular among other agencies for a few years.  It seems some probationers were acting wild and shooting at everyone, including city cops.  This did not create a good image for our department, and the police started to hate us.  To counter that, one... Continue Reading →

Years ago, my older brother and I were having a conversation about some friends we used to know. Friends that, in high school, were so important and we thought we’d never lose touch with, now we wouldn’t recognize them if they were standing right in front of us. It’s strange how time can erode a... Continue Reading →