The following program was produced by the United States Courts. “You're working with people that are at the
lowest part of their life, and you’re helping them to get back on the right track. My name is John Lent, and I’m a United States Probation Officer.” ‘Marilyn Grisham, Chief U.S. Probation Officer.” “Belen Colon, and I’m a Pre-Trial Services Officer.” “Michael Baker. I’m a United States Pre-Trial Services Officer.” “Janine Hager. Chief Probation Officer.” “Mitsy Westendorf, Senior U.S. Probation Officer.” “Sandre Rose, U.S. Probation Officer.”
“My name is Charles Meisler. United States Pre-trial Services Office.”
“I am a United States Probation Officer.” “As a Pre-trial Services Officer, I am usually the first contact a defendant has with the U.S. Courts. We are dealing with a population that has been accused of a crime, but are innocent until proven guilty.” “We have to do background investigations, we have to verify where they live, where they work, and their family ties.” “Bail is specifically a pre-trial task because we are assigned with investigating these folks, and then present that information to the Court.” “We make a recommendation on whether that defendant should be released on bail or detained pending their trial.” “We get defendants at the beginning, once they’ve been arrested. Probation gets them at the end, post conviction.” “Probation Officer jobs are incredibly important.” “The major responsibility is the supervision of an offender.” “We have specialized case loads, intensive
supervision, we have officers who handle location monitoring, community service, lining
up jobs.” “If an individual can find a job that they can become gainfully employed, they’re going to treatment, they are going to be less likely to commit offenses.”
“One of our main objectives as Probation Officers is to protect the community, and help individuals rehabilitate so that they can be productive citizens within the community.” “The ability to investigate as a Pre-trial or Probation Officer is vital because the Court relies upon us to provide them with accurate information.” “We are entrusted by the Courts to give them an impartial observation of the defendant.” “We're working hand-in-hand
with the Federal Judges, who are taking our recommendations, and they're making an impact on other people's lives based on the information
that we’ve gathered.” “The pre-sentence reports help the judge to decide
what type of sentence to impose as well as the conditions of supervision.” “If the individual isn’t abiding by the conditions of supervision,
then of course we will hold them accountable.” “I feel an enormous responsibility to get
it right.” “Individuals’ crimes range anywhere from kidnapping, bank robbery, embezzlement.” “We get all kinds of people – rich, poor, all races, all age levels.” “You are involved intimately in the lives of other people. You know more about them than their families may know.” “It's extremely important to understand the issues that many of our defendants will come to us with.” “We have a lot of people who have both mental health and drug issues.
We have to try to see what it is we can do to help them.” “Probation and Pre-trial Officers receive training at the
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston, South Carolina.” “We receive a large amount of classroom and dynamic-based training,
which includes scenario-based field work, report writing, investigative tools, firearms, defensive tactics.” “We learn how to prepare ourselves for our
job. We really run the whole gamut.” “My job as a Federal Probation Officer is the crème-de-la-crème;
it’s the top of our profession.” “We're looking for the best of the best.” “For high-level ethics and integrity.” “To be a good Pre-trial or Probation Officer, you need to be organized, you need to have good communication skills.” “You have to be a good listener.” “You have to have a passion for it because
it can be very stressful, it's very intense. What I like about working here is the professionalism. It's a very high standard, and everybody is required to meet that standard.” “Everybody that you work with is at the top of their game. We're working with United States District
Court Judges that have been appointed by the President of the United States.” “No two days are ever the same. I never know what I’m walking into.” “You have Judges calling you, you have defendants who have problems, and
you need to multi-task, and try to do the best you can.” “There's something new and challenging every day.” “There's so many things you can do as an officer, you
just don’t stay an officer all of your career unless you want to.”
“I was able to go from a line officer to a specialist, to a supervisor, to a deputy
chief, to eventually my current position as a Chief here in San Francisco because of the great
opportunities.” “I feel very satisfied at the end of the day,
when I have had a good day in dealing with families, and dealing with the Court, and knowing that I have made a difference
in someone’s life.” “You can affect people's lives in a positive
way. You can help people become productive.” “It gives you a good feeling. The job itself
is the good-feeling type of job.” “If you want to serve your country and your community.” “If you truly want to affect change, then you have
the opportunity here in the Federal Probation System to do that.” “I have no doubt that this is where I am meant to be, And I am fully satisfied with the job that I do today.”
