Probation Officer Interview Essay

I interviewed Joe Neal, Deputy Probation Officer III, Mendocino County Adult Probation. I learned a lot about the Probation Officer’s job and Joe during my time interviewing him. Joe started his law enforcement career at a young age. He did not go into much detail about his career start, but did tell me that he eventually ended up being a Juvenile Court Judge. He retired then went to work at the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department. Due to the stress and shift work there he decided he would have more impact on people if he were in probation. He applied and went through the process and was hired. His goal was to help people turn their lives around and live drug and alcohol free productive lives. Although probation is also a high stress
There is a written exam with the State. Once the exam is passes, there is an Oral Board interview. A copy of your driving record printout, copy of current driver’s license, sealed copies of college transcripts, copy of your college diploma, social security card, birth certificate, release forms for verification of information provided, and a handwritten autobiographical history. Once that information is verified fingerprinting takes place. When you pass all of the background the next step is to be scheduled for a physical and a psychological exam. An offer of employment is contingent with passing the physical and psychological exam. I got the impression from this packet that if you are not a person who takes the time to keep your life in order, you can’t possibly help others learn how to either. I also noticed during the interview how short most of Joe’s answers were. I asked him why he didn’t elaborate on different questions, he told me that he learned a long time ago to get to the point quickly and you get the best answer from your questions. If they don’t have too much information to compute, you usually get an answer beyond “just because”. I noticed Joe’s office was very tidy and well organized. I didn’t ask how much time he spends filing or organizing, but with the case loads, I imagine he has to make the time after each task to be prepared for the next duty of the