Virginia Department Observation Essay

The agency I am working for is the Virginia Department of Correction Probation and Parole District 19 located in Newport News, Virginia. The purpose of the agency is to promote public safety; the mission is enforced by providing offenders with positive reinforcements so they can live a crime free life. The agency hopes to achieve the mission by: investigation and assessment of the individual’s risk, detailed supervision plan, ample amounts of treatment and resources, lastly, appropriate sanctions as a result of noncompliance. The administrative structure of the Virginia Department of Corrections Probation and Parole consist of the Corrections Operations Director who is George Hinkle, following is the Administrator for Community Corrections, Marcus Elam, and then the Chief of Probation and Parole Erma Torrance. Under Chief Torrance there are three Deputy Chiefs: Aleandro, Schafer, and Taliaferro. Following the Deputy Chiefs are six Senior Probation Officers (SPO), and under supervision of the …show more content…
I got the chance to experience firsthand of the closeness of the Officers at the department, there are three units in the Newport News office: the sex offender unit, mental illness, and general population. Each Officer is able to go to each other to ask for assistance on paperwork as well as trading shifts for intake. I have also had the pleasure to experience how helping the Officers are with the client. The start of my internship I was under supervision of Officer Baines, my first assignment was to witness a case opening. A case opening is the first initial meeting between the Officer and the client, the client has to answer several routine questioners which have been created by the department, and the client and the Officer create a relationship. After the questioners were complete, Mr. Baines asked the client, “What can he do to help he/she complete their probation