Thursday, June 19, 2008

PO Leaveth, and I am corrected

The probation officer is a very nice woman. Her job is primarily administrative now, but she still has four kids on parole that she keeps track of. She didn't want to have to transfer any of them.

It turns out that Gary has not been on probation an unusual length of time. The PO said that most kiddie criminals stay on probation until they are 21. If they are as good as Gary has been then can be released early (like when they are 18), but in my county that means "unsupervised probation" which in turn means only that getting arrested or getting a ticket would have more severe consequences than for the rest of us. This all seems excessive to me. I am inclined to think it is because I am in such a conservative state, but maybe this is typical of the nation. I don't know.

The probation restrictions are not things that will affect me. There are things he has to do -- like call her every week and maintain a certain GPA. The only thing that affects me is the curfew. If he wants to go to a movie with his friends, for instance, I have to pick him up from the theater if it is after 8:00pm. He can't ride his bike home or get a ride from a friend. He has to ask the PO for permission to be out after 8:00 for something that is neither school nor church related, but that is his job.

Anyway, I liked the PO, which is a good thing since she will be a regular visitor to our home.

Gary likes her too. He wanted to show her his room. She recently hurt her knee, but she promised to go down the stairs to see it next time.

2 comments:

  1. Well, I live in a more liberal state, and probation here is usually for a year. If the offense is really serious, the kid is placed in the custody of juvenile corrections until s/he is 18, but sometimes the kid goes home before s/he turns 18 (but still remains in custody.) If a kid is a legal adult at 18, how can he be under the supervision of a juvenile po until he turns 21? Seems odd to me...

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  2. That is nice you like her. These people who get assigned to you can make your life miserable if they are not nice.

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