Category: Criminal Justice and Counseling

One true thing

This post was written a few years ago now. I no longer work in that field, not because I chose to leave it as much as because things changed and I was unable to sustain my progress. But I stand by this post.

One of the first things I’m often asked when people find out what I do for my living, is “doesn’t it scare you to be working with all those criminals? ” or something similar to that question.  .

My short and easy answer?  No, it doesn’t.  

In fact, most of the time I enjoy meeting with them. Most are interesting and friendly and often bright and insightful. Yes there are some I’d rather never see again, and some that i wouldn’t want to meet in a less public and protected setting, but for the most part, my clients are just regular people who did something that got them into trouble with the law.  Frequently they did or do have a pattern of criminal behavior, but in many ways they are not that different from me and probably not from you, either.  They have kids they love and families they love.

Don’t be surprised.  You might think, “No one I know has been in prison.”  While that may be true of your closest friends and family, as it was for me, you may find you have had contact with many people who have been incarcerated and are now free.  They are at your church.  They have kids at your children’s school. They work out at the same gym as you.  They may work with you every day.  They may live next door to you, or across the street.  They may be taking care of your car, or your dog, or hospitalized family member.

They are people, just like you and me, except they have had experiences that we never did.  They have been arrested and gone to prison.  I haven’t, and I’m generally fairly law-abiding, but most of us, if we really stop to think about it, have at least once or twice in our lives done something that could have led to arrest if we had been caught especially when I hear about some of the offenses my clients have committed.

Menacing, assault, domestic violence, sexual assault, fraud, identity theft, false information to a pawnbroker, criminal trespassing, auto theft, burglary, drug possession, etc.  You might say to yourself, no I never did any of those things, and maybe you haven’t, but its possible at some point that you did, and didn’t even realize what you did was criminal behavior.

Let’s look at menacing for example:

18-3-206. Menacing.

(1) A person commits the crime of menacing if, by any threat or physical action, he or she knowingly places or attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. Menacing is a class 3 misdemeanor, but, it is a class 5 felony if committed:

(a) By the use of a deadly weapon or any article used or fashioned in a manner to cause a person to reasonably believe that the article is a deadly weapon; or

(b) By the person representing verbally or otherwise that he or she is armed with a deadly weapon.

Source: L. 71: R&RE, p. 421, 1. C.R.S. 1963: 40-3-206. L. 77: Entire section amended, p. 961, 12, effective July 1. L. 2000: Entire section amended, p. 694, 5, effective July 1.

Have you ever menaced?  Did you ever threaten someone with harm?  That is misdemeanor menacing.  Did you have something in your hand that could be interpreted as a weapon?  (that can include a toy gun, any object that someone could perceive as a weapon. Some of my horse supplies could appear as a weapon, for example.)  That’s felony menacing.  I’m a fairly peaceable and non aggressive person, and i don’t think i ever ‘menaced’ anyone, but behavior can be interpreted very loosely, and i do know plenty of people who have done things that likely met the definition of either misdemeanor menacing or felony menacing. Most likely you would not be arrested for it unless it was a pretty serious action, but it can happen, and it does happen.

 I won’t say most of my clients are innocent  – they generally aren’t innocent.  And they usually don’t claim they are – More about that subject in the  future –  but the example might show you how easily you can make a mistake that changes your entire life.  I’ll add that most of my clients have made more than one mistake of a similar nature, since probation or other non-custodial sentences are usually given for a single first offense. Prison is not the first stop for most offenses, with, of course, some major exceptions.  It’s usually the end stop after a number of chances and a number of bad choices.

Of course I also meet with my clients in a safe setting.  We meet in my personal office, in an office space filled with my coworkers.  It’s a very controlled setting in which we are not allowed to be left alone with a client, and where others are aware of the meeting.

There are some I’ve met with that I’d rather not meet outside of a controlled setting, but they are the exception.

Myths, truths and pondering

I work as a therapist with clients who are involved in the Criminal Justice system.  Specifically I work with people who are on parole, helping them to get treatment and resources they need to avoid recidivism and integrate into the community.  I’ve met some amazing people in the time I have been doing this work, and I’ve seen firsthand some of the myths and some of the truths about the system and the people who are in it. i can only speak from my own experiences, which are limited to the parole system in the state in which I live, and by extension some things about the prisons and jails, the laws and the sentencing practices, for example.  But mostly, it’s about the people.

My state is unusual in that all inmates are automatically placed on parole, whether they complete their sentence or are released early. The parole length is a part of the sentence so all inmates are supervised on parole after their release from prison.

Some of my clients don’t like this policy; I’ve been told that its “unconstitutional”, and that similar laws in other states have been ruled to be unconstitutional.  I haven’t looked that up to verify it, because here, in this place,  that’s the way the system is, and here is where I am.  For the most part, I believe that it’s a system that has a good purpose, although sometimes it serves that purpose better than other times.

By having parole for every single inmate, there is an option to provide support and help to every single inmate and that should be a good thing. I think it often is a good thing, even for those of my clients who hate it the most.  Perhaps mostly for the clients who hate it the most.   But at times it also places a burden on someone who has paid their debt, has served the time given, and who just wants to live their life.  Some people need the help.  Some thrive on the structure.  Some find it a cushion that allows them to start a new life.  Some feel they are slowly suffocating under the restrictions and supervision.

Check back soon for more …..