Parole officers at the crossroads: Are they social workers or cops?
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But Governor Maura Healey's personnel choices signal that a shift is well underway. The man
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But he is also the son of Puerto Rican-born parents, who, he told the Governor's Council Wednesday, came north with little money, and depended on a variety of social services for a 'hand up.'
'I believe those who come before the Parole Board are looking for a hand up,' he said, adding his guiding principle has been and remains '
ser justo
, to be just.'
He also told the council that since the passage of a major
'We're not police. Our mission is different,' he added. 'We have evolved dramatically.'
Well, yes and no.
Even a cursory read of the parole officer
In fact, as recently as the last available
Now keep in mind, parole field officers were never a part of the 2020
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And, as state Senator Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont), who helped draft and shepherd the police reform bill through the Legislature, explained, 'We don't really think of them as law enforcement officers. Their job is primarily supervisory.'
And so both parole and probation officers were never part of the regulatory scheme.
But that hasn't stopped some parole officers from joining in the police action when the occasion presented itself — that is until a new agency protocol was signed, effective March 19, expressly prohibiting their participating 'in other investigations and warrants' unless they directly involve a parolee.
The edict provided the impetus for at least one angry letter to the Governor's Council, from Bryan Westerman, a parole field officer, who opposed Gomez's confirmation and blamed him for 'dismantled law enforcement partnerships.'
There is no hiding the tension between what the Healey administration, officials like Gomez, and his supporters want for the direction of the agency and what they are up against in moving the parole system into the 21st century.
'The newer parole officers are much like social workers,' said Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton), a champion of criminal justice reform and a supporter of Gomez's confirmation. 'They recognize that people want to find a job and housing and don't want to go back to prison.'
They see their roles as 'coaches, not referees,' he added. 'But if you have a parole officer focused on technical violations, they're not really serving the cause of justice.'
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And those who simply want the adrenaline rush of a police raid ought to be looking for another job.
Gomez, whose confirmation comes up for a vote before the Governor's Council next week, is the right man at a critical time. But he and his fellow board members are up against a workforce that has had things its way for decades. Turning that ship around will be everybody's job.
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