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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 1963)
BEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON SUNDAY. AUGUST 4. 193 People Helped Over Rough' Spots By GEORGE H. BELL Mail Tribuna Staff Wiiter John W. Darby is a large framed man in his early 40's. His broad, rugged fa and crew cut hair suggest an ath letic youth. He moves his hands animatedly when he talks, now gesturinu. now sketching pictures in the air to illustrate the point of his words. As regional director of the Oregon state office of parole and probation, he is immedi ately responsible for the con duct and welfare of some 600 persons in seven counties in southwestern Oregon who have violated the law. He talks fluently, colorful ly, a little too hurriedly when he gets going on the subject of his work. One senses his frustration at trying to de scribe the complexities and subtilities of a demanding Job. Pinned to the wall behind him in his office is the fragile black and yellow wing of a monarch butterfly. On his desk, facing whomever is sit ting talking to him, is a fa miliar set of the three bronze monkeys who "hear no evil, say no evil, and see no evil." Two Seem Symbolic Though clearly not Intend ed as such, the two objects seem symbolic: the butterfly wing of the delicate nature of the task of trying to bring stability to persons with rec ords of erratic, unstable be havior; and the monkeys of the necessity of trying to dis cover, foster and strengthen the good qualities of his "cli ents," persons who have shown society only their bad side. Through Darby's office, and the offices of his nine field men, come individuals who have been placed on pro bation for a period of time by courts In the area, or who have been paroled after serv ing part of their sentences from one of the prisons or correctional institutions in the state. Darby and his staff are ded icated to doing their best to help those persons, in what ever way possible, to recon struct or reshape their lives in such a way they will no longer pose a threat to the well being of the rest of so ciety. "We try to help these peo ple over the rough spots," Darby said, "and to adjust to the pressures of the commu nity." A Challenging Job It is a "challenging" job, Darby says earnestly, one that is not entrusted to just any one. He describes a parole and probation officer as a "so cial worker with police au- ! DISCUSSES CASE John W. Darby (left), regional director of the state board of pa role and probation, discusses a case with one of his field officers, Robert Pillsbury, who has only recently been assigned to the Medford office. Darby's region includes sev en counties in southwestern Oregon, with offices located at Klamath Falls, Grants Pass. Roseburg, and Coquille, as well as' Medford. A new office is scheduled to be opened next month in Gold Beach. thority," and that is power and influence which is not endowed lightly. To become a probation of ficer an applicant must be between 25 and 59 years old, and hold a college degree from an acredited institution of higher education, prefera bly in psychology or one of the social science fields. A year's experience working in close contact with the pub lic is desirable, but not nec essary. A rugged state civil serv ice examination must be passed, and then the appli cant is given an initial screen ing in an interview at the administrative offices of the agency in Salem. After that, the applicant must face a sec ond interview before a panel composed of a federal proba tion office, a captain from the Portland city police force and a sociology professor from the University of Oregon. Throughout the entire screening process, the agen cy will be looking for an out going personality, a highly principled character, an al truistic but not a do-gooder attitude; someone, in short, who can establish confidence readily with others and put them at ease so.- they will talk freely. An applicant's conduct, both before and aft er he is hired, must be above reproach. Having met these stringent qualifications, the newly hred parole and probation of ficer may expect to receive a minimum starting salary of $460 a month. Top pay for a field man is $570 a month. Two weeks of intensive training in Salem is given each "rookie" officer. Then he is sent to his assigned re gion where he undergoes an other two weeks of training. Throughout his career with the agency (employee turn over s small. Darby says), the officer will continually par ticipate in in-service training to keep him sharp and grow ing. The neophyte officer will be joining an agency which was first established by an act of the legislature in June, 1939. From its early begin nings, the organization has grown to a present staff of about 60 field men and 10 administrative sup ervisors. There are 19 district offices spread oil over the state. In Darby's district, offices are maintained in Klamath Falls, Grants Pass, Roseburg, and Coquille, as well as Med ford. Plans call for opening another office in Gold Beach in September, Darby reveal ed. H. M. Randall, a former attorney, has been director of the agency with offices in Salem since about 1944. Moore's August POOL & PATIO clearance MANY ITEMS GOING AT COST an. BELOW COST!! Enjoy 2 Months of Summer With These Savings HAMMOCKS WITH STAND . 1477 27.00 Value Web Lounge With 2 Chairt 19 77 81.95 value-Umbrella with table & 4 chairs . . . only 58.57 29.95 Innerspring Chaise 17.77 19.95 Padded Chaise .. 12.77 29.95 Umbrellas . 18.77 42" Steel Tables . 13.99 Seagrass Squares 17c 9.95 Lounge Pads . 5.99 29.95 Cord Chaise 17.77 Sale Starts Mon., 9 a.m. LIMITED STOCK OF SOME ITEMS SAVE $4.00 to $200 on POOLS MOST SIZES LEFT BUT HURRY TOO MANY TO LIST HERE Register and Win July 1 Winntt: fr Mjntor, Ashland CASH PLUS MERCHANDISE MOORE'S PATIO & TOY SHOP 816 SOUTH RIVERSIDE -81 5 SO. CENTRAL , For anyone who may have some doubts about the worth whiteness of a career in pa role and probation work, or, for that matter, about the efficacy of the agency in the first place. Darby is prepar ed with a few, punchy sta tistics that more than remove any questions. "It costs the taxpayer $1, 340 a year to maintain a pris oner in a state correctional institution," he said, "but only J233 a year to supervise a man on parole." Too, there is an added plus factor in paroling a man, rather than keeping him lock ed up, in that when he is returned to society a parolee pays taxes. But, most impor tant of all, he is reunited with his family, often remov ing them from the rolls of the state welfare agency. Successfully Complete Time Docs parole work? Darby points out that 75 per cent of those persons placed on parole successfully complete their period of supervision, while only 25 per cent are re turned to institutions as pa role violators. Of those persons placed on probation by a court, about oo per cent are successful in completing their terms with out trouble, though Darby ad mits that the statistics are aided in that instance by the fact that many of them are first time offenders. Every effort is expended to make certain that the odds in returning a convicted per son to the community will be comfortably on the side of society. After the state board has granted parole to an individ ual, but before he is released from the state institution he must attend a number of class es designed to acquaint him with his obligations and re quirements upon release, and to insure that he completely understands his situation. Also before an individual is released, the agency will have checked out the environ ment to which the prisoner is returning to make certain conditions are favorable for a new start and that the same circumstances don't prevail which landed him behind bars to start with. Reports To Office As soon as possible after the doors of the institution close behind him, the parolee reports to the administration office in Salem for a briefing. From there he reports to the district office nearest the community where he will be living. It is there he meets the pa role officer who has been as signed to his case and the two of them sit down and talk things over for a while to get to know each other. The relationship between the two may make the difference be tween a successful adjustment and a new life or frustration, failure and a forced return to prison. Both are aware of the importance of a good start. One of the first orders of business for the new parolee is to see that he gets a job and brgins to earn his own way. The parole officer often ; can bp instrumental in seeing that the parolee finds suitable employment. Sometimes a ; trade that the man learned 1 in prison stands him in good ; stead in finding a job. About the first of each month, the parolee must sub mit a report to hi." supervis ing officer in which he de tails his activities during the months, and, depending on how well the individual is adjusting to parole, the offi cer may make personal con tact with him up to 10 times during a 30-day period. "We take the dignity of the individual into consider ation," Darby said, "and each man is treated with respect for his God-given rights. "We avoid calling on a man while he is working on the job, and we are careful to visit him in his home during hours when it will be most convenient." Darby insists he and his colleagues don't expect mira cles out of their parolees. Not To Change Man "We're not out to change the man completely," he said, "but we would hope to alter those patterns of living which got him into trouble with the law and society in the first place." "We only ask that a man show us some progress," Dar by said "that he pay his own way, that he hold on to his job and lake care of his family, and that he begin to make a reasonable adjust ment to the community and society." The director said his staff was forced to watch a pa rolee's financial situation very closely because of the inabili ty of some to handle money. Before a parolee can make a purchase of anything worth over $50, he must talk the matter over with his super vising officer. The trend in parole-probation philosophy now is to hold the individual respon sible for his own actions, Dar by said, as opposed to an ear lier theory which viewed a man from a deterministic standpoint and held that his heredity or environment mit igated in large degree what ever he did. Appraise Man's Assets "We appraise a man's as sets and liabilities pretty carefully," he said, "and try to accept him for what he is. Then we work to give him 'staying power' and help him develop a sense of self disci pline." But whatever the underly ing philosophy. Darby em phasized that no two cases are alike. "You can't just take the rules and regulations and say, 'This is it.' It would be a lot easer if we could do it that way, but we'd have a lot more failures." The falures burn in a pa role officer's memory. Darby remembered one of his - a 45-year-old cook who lived in the Portland area some years ago. A happier memory is the case of the 28-year-old man, also from the Portland area, who was sentenced to Oregon State penitentiary for burga- ry after a long history of short-term jobs, drinking and a series of minor arrests. Enrolled in Classes While in OSP, the man en rolled in some classes and eventually was awarded a high school diploma. After serving two years of a three- year sentence, he was granted parole. The man went back to his home town, got a job as a choke setter In the woods. His earlier problem with alcohol cropped up again after a time, however, and when his em ployers began to notice it, he was fired. For about two months the man teetered on the brink of serious trouble, but his parole officers faith in him served as a bulwark. The officer fi nally went to the employers and, after some persuasion gained a second chance for the man. A totally unexpected cir cumstance developed at this point which Darby said, more than anything else, helped to straighten the man out. His younger brother, of whom he was especially fond, began to get into trouble. By working to keep his brother out of difficulties, the man, without realizing it, kept on the straight and narrow hitnsclf. Perhaps he subcon sciuosly begun to try to set a good example for his brother. That's the way Darby wish, rs they would all turn out But even though fhey don't in this less than perfect world, it is hopeful that, mainly through the work of the slate board of parole and probation many potentially chronic criminals can be helped in the tortuous process of liv ing down their "mistakes" and building new and successful lives. CRATER LAKE MOTORS "van" BuitN mmi Buy At Wholesale! '62 CHY. V-8 Impala 2-Dr. H.T., R&H, auto., tOOEA P S. Real sharp. Was $269? NOW 3 " M. 773-7594 8th ft Fir Ret. Ph. 772-8073 Want it? Charge it! 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