I got to meet someone who tried to assassinate a president
Written on March 4th, 2010 at 10:12 am by Brittany Bridenbaker.This past January I completed my final Field Period at U.S. Probation. Before I could complete my Field Period at this placement, I had to write to a Federal Judge to get his letter of recommendation and then be interviewed by a U.S. Probation Officer. Nonetheless, I got in!! This one of the best experiences of my life. Let me tell you about it….
Throughout the month, I went to Federal Court with my supervisor almost everyday. I got to see a person who would cut off their fingertips to change their identity, many drug dealers/users, sex offenders, and people who violated their probation. I also got to meet a person who tried to assassinate a president…really cool!!!! I went to many jails around the state to interview offenders who were recently arrested or were waiting for their sentence. I wrote several Bail Reports to Federal Judges to tell them more about the offender; their ties to the community, drug history, job/school information, monetary information and my recommendation to either detain or release the offender.
When completing this Field Period, I wrote in my journal everyday about my experiences and what I was learning. I had to also complete unique documentation which was so much fun. I made up a pretend person, Mildred Baxter, who had robbed a bank to pay for her outstanding medical bills due to her knee surgeryfrom falling on the ice. I had to really go in depth when I had to talk about her mental health, family history, how she worked at a local diner, and how she took many pain pills, of which she was addicted. I also had her gave her two prior DWI charges and was court ordered to attended self-help groups. I really had fun making up this person and her life story. This really made me more familiar with the Federal Criminal Justice System and the paperwork U.S. Probation Officers have to complete daily.
I also was a part of research for the office. The Chief of the office wanted to see how much his probation officers made contact with their offenders in the field. This includes seeing the offender at his/her home, work, school or community. I had to go through each probation officers travel logs and document each visit onto a spreadsheet. I found out that probation officers really do not make much contact with their offender in the field which really surprised me. These offenders are criminals who have committed hard federal crimes and need as much supervision as they can get.
Overall my experience was amazing. If I decide that I would like to strive to be a U.S. Probation Officer, I would need my masters degree.



