The Trouble With Omens

Malcom was a young African American male with a sense of righteousness that resembled his namesake. He was born in the wrong decade, fitting perfectly in the mid 1960s. HeContinue reading “99 Problems”

A few weeks ago my two dogs had a cottonmouth snake cornered in the garage. These are common in my area and ranked fourth of the six venomous snakes inContinue reading “I’m Not The Snake”

For the most part, we don’t put trackers on many offenders. It’s a sure giveaway that someone is on probation or parole. You see a guy with a black, bulbousContinue reading “15 Minutes”

We are always told to not make an arrest alone, make sure you go with a team for safety reasons.  At the time it wasn’t policy, but if you arrestedContinue reading “The Runner”

Timmy was a commonly seen Parolee; a white kid in his mid twenties, but looked like he was in his fifties.  Maybe 5’6” if he stood up straight, but wasContinue reading “The Burial”

The Youthful Offender Program (YOP) had ambitious goals. The Green Mile and I had lower, padded case numbers, but they were far from easy. We were tasked with younger adultsContinue reading “Beauty and the Beast “

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. By human trafficking I mean prostitution, or pimping.  Prostitution seems to be a forgotten crime that somehow has become cool. Snoop Dogg, 50Continue reading “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy”

Recently, through interest in a development toward bigger things, I have been asked about what I do in Probation and Parole. Most don’t know. We are law enforcement agents, withContinue reading “What We Do”

I had the opportunity to work with all types of people in my time. From the super violent and vicious to the super weird. The weird were always the mostContinue reading “Empire”

Every city has a subdivision that is in the worst part of town, for a while I was assigned to work with that office. It was down by the docks,Continue reading “Turtles and Tasers”

When I was working with the night detective team, they would always want to go to search some of my more active probationers.  This was defined by the odds ofContinue reading “The Blue Pit”

My older brother’s birthday is right around Thanksgiving. The holiday makes me think of him.  He was killed by a drunk driver late on a Tuesday night in March, onContinue reading “My Brother’s Killer”

Brian had issues reporting on time for his mandatory office visits.  Meaning, he barely reported at all.  After he missed three or four in a row, I’d have to driveContinue reading “The Thanksgiving Guest”

Eddie was a small, feisty terrier mix I got at the pound.  He was there for a little over a year, and was claimed by at least one family whoContinue reading “The Mayor of Honolulu”

Keith spent some time in prison and you could tell.  He was jaded and angry all the time, but not closed off.  He would explain to me how much prisonContinue reading “The Undertaker”

I met Jerome right after his got out of prison.  He was doing 20 years to life for murder.  He was let go after 10 years under a “Compassionate Release.” Continue reading “The Compassionate Heart”

Working with sex offenders gets tricky.  It’s really hard to learn about some of the things these probationers have done, breaks down your faith in humanity.  One of the veryContinue reading “The Halloween Wolf”

It never rains in Southern California, but when it does, it causes a lot of havoc.  It’s like it builds up over time and dumps on us all at once. Continue reading “Further Adventures of White Chocolate and The Green Mile”

I can appreciate an experienced gangster, they have been around long enough to know how to keep attention from building up around them.  While on probation or parole, they alwaysContinue reading “The Invisible Man”

For a few years I was stationed part time with the Mid City police station’s night detective team.  I would work Thursday and Friday nights from two to midnight.  IContinue reading “Just Talking”

One of the best parts of the job was extraditions.  If someone had a warrant out of our County, ran away, and got arrested in another state, we had toContinue reading “Mississippi Mud”

Billy Feral (I had to change his identity for the purposes of this story, but his real name was just as fantastic and fitting) was a giant, at least 6’8”Continue reading “The Trial of Billy Feral”

It’s my birthday today.  I’m not happy about it. Gone are the days of short ribs, Bronco rides, and beers.  Now, I only have the echos of my own voiceContinue reading “The Trouble With Omens”

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. Continue reading “Taser Taser”

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 theContinue reading “Shaking In My Boots”

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.  ItContinue reading “Know Your Worth”

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, heContinue reading “Guardrails”

“Some men just want to watch the world burn” – Alfred Pennyworth. I never thought bad people existed.  Naive, I know.  I thought true cruelty and drama only existed inContinue reading “Watch The World Burn”

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,Continue reading “Ball Game in Street”

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. Continue reading “Like a Moth to a Flame”

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 atContinue reading “Call Your Mother”

One summer while working with probation in Southern California, I was assigned to work exclusively with our US Marshalls task force officer, Brad.  He was a mountain of a man;Continue reading “Chili Mac”

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’dContinue reading “No Matter What”

When I first started working with the Probation Department, I was lucky enough to be assigned to the best partner for me.  Big John, also known as The Green Mile,Continue reading “White Chocolate and The Green Mile”