Offenders get guidance and a second chance
Wearing a silver chain over a white T-shirt and jeans, Anthony,
a San Benito County resident, looks young. Convicted for drug
charges, he needs to find a job so that he can start paying his
court-ordered fines.
Offenders get guidance and a second chance
Wearing a silver chain over a white T-shirt and jeans, Anthony, a San Benito County resident, looks young. Convicted for drug charges, he needs to find a job so that he can start paying his court-ordered fines.
The only place hiring is the cannery, but the job would conflict with his drug abuse education classes.
“So why don’t you work the graveyard shift?” asked Ray Salcido, a probation officer for San Benito County.
Anthony reluctantly agreed.
“I’m going to motivate you a little bit,” Salcido said. “I’m going to give you a month to find a job or I’ll assign you some community service hours. You’ve got to start paying off some of those fines.”
It is a typical morning. A day with Salcido illustrates the challenge that drug addicts face in trying to get clean and the tough job that probation officers have in supporting them through it.
The probation department at Fourth and Monterey streets in downtown Hollister looks like any other office building.
Although it is not large, Salcido’s office is neat. A large desk and several chairs occupy much of the floor space. Most of one wall is taken up by filing cabinets.
The only decoration is a corkboard with pictures of Batman and other superheroes tacked to its surface.
A couple of Salcido’s clients did not show up for their morning appointments. Being late and blaming others are characteristic of drug addicts, Salcido said.
“I’ve been doing this so long, I’ve heard every excuse,” Salcido said.
Salcido is clean cut, with large eyes and a rough, commanding voice. Dressed in a white dress shirt and dark dress pants, the only thing that identifies him as a probation officer is the badge clipped at his waist.
State officials offer a variety of programs at the local level for people convicted of possession or being under the influence. Part of Salcido’s job is to determine eligibility for drug treatment and make sure his clients are following the rules of their probation.
‘My case load never falls below 200’
He sees most of those every two to four weeks, Salcido said.
Usually 45 or 50 of those cases involve intensive supervision with weekly appointments, Salcido said. Appointments generally last for 30 minutes, Salcido said.
Appointments on a recent morning lasted between 10 and 20 minutes.
Salcido spends most of his time in the office, about 26 hours per week. He also spends about six hours per week in court and eight in the field on home visits.
“There’s always something to do,” Salcido said. “I love it, though. It’s something that I can relate to on a personal level. I guess we all can. Drug addicts aren’t just zapped here.”
He has seen how addiction hurts families and friends, Salcido said.
“I’ve seen the nature of the beast,” Salcido said.
Eighty percent of Salcido’s clients are methamphetamine users. Often they are male.
“They tend to get caught more,” Salcido said. “But I do have my fair share of women, and they’re just as much of a handful as the men. Sometimes more so.”
Unlike parole, probation is administered on the local level, said Stephanie Carucci, a probation officer for the San Benito County Probation Department. Anybody who goes to prison gets a parole officer.
Dressed much like Salcido, Carucci is easy to be with. She is quick to smile and talks comfortably with clients and their family members.
Most addicts cannot quit on their own, Salcido said.
“That’s why they’re in the system, Salcido said.
Treatment is considered cheaper than incarceration, Salcido said. Without treatment, addicts tend to cycle in and out of jail. Along with drug abuse come other offenses, such as assault or property destruction.
The Deferred Entry of Judgment Program (DEJP) is a first offender program for people with no prior drug convictions. If they can stay clean, attend drug abuse education classes and pay their fines, the conviction is dismissed.
“It’s to weed out the true addicts,” Salcido said.
Proposition 36 was passed by California voters in 2000, creating a drug treatment program that’s more intensive than the first time offender program. It offers treatment to people who failed DEJP but have no convictions for offenses other than drug charges.
“I’ve been doing the Prop. 36 cases for about six years,” Salcido said.
Generally, probation lasts three years and involves drug abuse education classes, meetings with a probation officer and fines. Clients are drug tested at appointments with their probation officer and sometimes on home visits.
If they follow the rules, the conviction is expunged.
“Usually if somebody is accepting the program just to stay out of jail, they quickly realize that this is a lot more difficult than being in jail,” Salcido said. “They usually stop coming.”
At that point, a warrant is issued for their arrest.
“We wait till they come back,” Salcido said. “When they fail Proposition 36, then they are sentenced.”
People charged with a misdemeanor could face jail time, Salcido said. Felony convictions mean prison time or felony probation. Sentencing is at the judge’s discretion.
Drug court is an option for those who failed Proposition 36 or do not qualify due to other convictions. It is a collaborative program between the judge, probation staff, department of behavioral health staff and the district attorney’s office staff.
San Benito County officials are running a pilot of the program with two clients.
Within Proposition 36, probation officers have some discretion to determine the eventual outcome.
Reuben
Reuben is a hardcore PCP user who has used up two of his three chances to avoid incarceration. He is also HIV positive.
Salcido has been trying to help Reuben quit for most of the last five years.
“I haven’t used in a week,” Reuben said. “Well, I took a puff or two.”
A dangerous drug, PCP can cause blackouts and give the user almost supernatural strength, Salcido said.
Reuben is on a waiting list for residential treatment, but he must detox before most programs will enroll him. For a PCP addict, that can take three weeks.
“When it gets to that point, I generally take them into custody,” Salcido said. “A lot of times, that’s their only option if they can’t stay clean.”
Salcido gives Reuben one week to clean up or face jail time.
The stakes are high. Jail time could turn Reuben into a three-time failure and wreck his chances of receiving residential treatment.
Only the judge can order jail time, but the recommendation is at Salcido’s discretion.
Reuben has been making his appointments with probation and attending drug treatment classes, Salcido said.
“We may give them a little more chances than others, because that is the purpose of this program,” Salcido said. “Each person varies, you know.”
He must weigh public safety against what is best for Reuben’s treatment, Salcido said.
“We’re not here to punish,” Salcido said. “We’re here to make sure they receive the treatment they’re entitled to.”
With a 60 percent success rate, residential treatment has a higher success rate than outpatient treatment, Salcido said.
Probation violations vary. Salcido might recommend a probation violation for excessive dirty drug tests, missing appointments or being picked up on new charges.
Proposition 36 is a success, Salcido said.
“Without this program, the majority of these people would probably be in prison or jail right now, not attaining more skills,” Salcido said. “It would be a revolving door. [You’d be] creating more problems then there are.”
It can be hard to find a job after a drug conviction.
“If they’ve had a job before, hopefully they can hold onto it,” Salcido said.
Another client of Salcido’s, Freddie, is middle aged with tattoos covering his arms and neck.
“I don’t want to go to jail,” Freddie said.
Freddie was on probation for drug charges in a nearby county. He moved to San Benito County to escape a drug-infested neighborhood where he did not have a stable residence.
The deadline for paying his fines is approaching rapidly and the judge will not give him an extension.
“I’m willing to do anything,” Freddie said. “I just want to get a job so I can get the judge off my back and at the same time save some money to get back into the union.”
A welder by trade, it will cost more than $800 to get back into the union.
Freddie filled out an application at a local staffing agency.
“I wouldn’t hire me either, looking at that,” Freddie said.
Looking at what, Salcido asked.
“Looking at my background,” Freddie said.
Freddie calls the staffing agency every day.
Salcido tells him not to give up hope.
Often the only place that their clients can find work is in construction, Carucci said.
“Not steady, stable employment,” Carucci said.
For clients who cannot find a job, probation officers provide referrals to local temp agencies such as Manpower Staffing Services or for job training at the One-Stop Career Center.
Substance abuse staff also provides referrals.
“We also refer them to community service,” Salcido said.
Community service can offset fines.
In San Benito County, people are generally assigned community service at Bolado Park or the Community Pantry, Salcido said.
Although clients are tested at every office visit, probation officers also test them randomly during home visits, which Salcido and Carucci spent the afternoon conducting.
For safety reasons, home visits are nearly always conducted in pairs, Carucci said.
On home visits, Salcido checks the living conditions and catches up with his clients.
Frank and his niece, Martha, are both on probation for drug charges.
Martha, a single mom, is Carucci’s client.
Martha was pregnant when she went on probation and risked having her baby removed by child protective services staff.
“At first, I saw you as the enemy,” Martha said. “We kind of bumped heads.”
After praying about it, Martha realized that God brought Carucci into her life to help her.
“I graduate in May with an associate’s in business and I’m thinking about attending a four-year university,” Martha said. “I’m maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.”
She has paid off all her fines and is ready to get off probation, Carucci said.
“My life is so much better right now,” Martha said. “I’m trying to show some support for my boyfriend. He’s in the program.”
Martha has been in the program longer than her uncle Frank, Carucci said.
“He relapsed,” Carucci said. “He was in a residential program for about a year.”
Frank volunteers once per week at the thrift shop at Hazel Hawkins. He also takes classes at Gavilan College and wants to get a job within the medical field, Frank said.
“I think because everybody’s kind of living together, they can encourage each other to stay clean and sober,” Carucci said. “I think that makes a difference.”
Having a loving family does not necessarily give someone a better chance of kicking the habit.
“First, they have to acknowledge that they have a problem,” Carucci said. “Then it comes down to personal commitment.”
People tend to phase out as they get older, Salcido said.
“I’d say the maximum age I usually see is mid-40s,” Salcido said
Depending on how much time they have spent in the system, people get tired of it as they age and clean up their act, Carucci said.
Although past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, people can change.
Melissa, a mother of two, was busted a few years ago during a drug raid, Carucci said. Currently on probation, she has been in and out of four drug rehabilitation programs.
“I never thought she’d get it together,” Carucci said. “She was so out of control. Somewhere along the way, she just got it.”
