By MITCH WORD

NOTE: This is the ninth in a series of stories detailing the duties of the various county offices.

When someone breaks the law they can be punished by time in a penal institution, or they can have their sentence suspended and be placed on probation.

That’s where the Terry County Community Supervision and Corrections Department comes in.

The staff of the TCCSCD works to help the individual not only meet their probation obligations to the court system but also to help the client with whatever physical, mental or emotional problem might have led to their offense.

Susie Vincent is the Director of the 121st Judicial District. Her staff includes Shawn Bockleman, Senior Supervision Officer; Angie Garcia, Supervision Officer; Abraham Gonzales, Supervision Officer; Beverly Muschalek, Administrative Assistant; and Peggy Alldridge, Secretary.

“We’re responsible for the supervision of individuals who have been placed on adult probation by the courts,” Vincent said. “As officers of the court it is our job to try to help them succeed and keep them compliant with the terms and conditions set by the courts. If they are not compliant, then we report that back to the court.”

If the client has his or her probation revoked, they would spend time behind bars. Misdemeanor offenders would spend time in county jail and felony offenders would spend time in the state penitentiary. However, Vincent said they do everything possible to keep the situation from getting to that point.

“Our intent is to help them succeed, to become productive members of society,” she said. “We’re happy to help them, but they are also held accountable.”

Vincent added that many times there are factors that helped cause their offense, such as drug or alcohol abuse. In those cases there are ways of getting help to the offenders so they may overcome their problems.

“We have outpatient counseling where the offender meets with certified drug or alcohol dependency counselors,” Vincent said. “However, the courts can also order them to the Ray D. Anderson Community and Corrections Facility, a residential treatment center for drug abuse.”

Vincent said there is also a Batterer Intervention and Prevention Program for family violence offenders. The program helps identify causes that get the offenders in trouble.

Vincent noted that many times the offenders aren’t what the world perceives them to be.

“The perception is that they are bad people, but about 95 percent of them are just people who made bad choices,” she said.

The TCCSCD works with approximately 200 offenders directly in their office, while approximately 200 more are offenders who live in other counties and report to a probation officer in their county.

The TCCSCD is currently located at 109 East Broadway next to Brownfield Floral due to the renovation of the Terry County Courthouse.