Trying to Help Others Gain Control of Their Lives : Probation Officer Is Father, Big Brother, Whatever It Takes

Inside the building where Steve Sentman works, the receptionist sits behind bulletproof glass.

A locked, metal door in the linoleum-tiled waiting room leads to long corridors lined with cramped offices. It is a long walk down two dimly lit hallways to reach Sentman’s file-stuffed quarters, but about 120 Orange County adults make regular visits.

They have little choice in the matter because they are on probation. Most of them will share the first three years of their life outside jail with the 35-year-old deputy probation officer.

He likes to keep in touch.

“When people come to my office, they are on their best behavior for the most part. They know to say the right things and act the right way.

“It’s when we go out to the home that we sometimes see the real picture. When you walk into the home, you can tell what’s going on in the first couple minutes.

“The No. 1 concern in our department is community safety. Is this person going to be a threat to community safety?”

Slightly more than six out of every 10 probationers in Orange County complete the average three-year probation term successfully, Sentman said. There are currently 13,000 adult probationers in Orange County, of which 85% are felons who committed serious offenses.

“These are individuals who could have gone to state prison, but the court offered them probation,” said Sentman, who is one of 95 county probation officers working with adults.

“The first time I see somebody, their life is basically out of control and they’re saying, ‘I don’t want to go to prison; I don’t want to be sent back to court; but I do have a problem.’ ”

Sentman spent the first seven years of his career as a probation officer working with juvenile offenders in Orange County. He had always wanted to be a police officer, but he was also intrigued by the idea of working with people on their way out of the criminal justice system.

“A probation officer plays every role--I can be a big brother or a father. A guy came in yesterday said I reminded him of a coach. When they deal with the police, the police are just focusing on the bad things. Although we also have that aspect of the job, we are looking for what’s good in people and trying to encourage them.”

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Probation officers are often confused with parole officers, Sentman said.

As a county probation officer, he works with convicts who have typically served no more than a year in county jail for their last offense. Most were arrested for drug-related offenses, followed by burglary, theft and assault.

Convicts released from prison who committed more serious crimes such as murder and rape report to state parole officers.

“We also get people who have done prison time, completed their prison, completed their parole, then get a new arrest and come back through the system at our level again.”

Most of the criminal activity going on in Orange County is related to drug abuse, Sentman said, and the current drug of choice is methamphetamine.

“Methamphetamine abuse is just on a rampage right now. It’s cheap, it’s accessible--these labs are popping up everywhere and people can easily get their hands on it--and it’s very addictive. Psychologically, a lot of these people feel like they can’t make it through the day without it.

“These people who come in here--they once had a home and a job and a car, and within a year’s time, the drugs have taken it all away from them.”

It’s up to Sentman to see that his probationers find and keep a job, get counseling if needed and make a fundamental change in their lifestyle. He can make surprise home inspections and test them for drugs at any time. If they violate the terms of their probation, he makes the arrest.

“When you go into some of these homes, you see 2- and 3-year-old children, running around in a diaper in the middle of the day with no supervision and the house is filthy. You can see the problems start way before probation is involved.

“Now, all of a sudden here’s a probation officer who’s going to expect and demand structure in their lives. It’s a challenge for them. They’ve never had it. You go into a lot of these homes where these guys are maybe 45 years old and their parents are in their 70s and 80s, and it looks like they’re going to live off their parents as long as they can. They’ve never had to go out there and do what the mainstream of society does.”

Sentman, whose wife, Joni, is also a county probation officer, says he tries to focus on the successes of his work, even though he spends most of his time on those who are uncooperative.

“I’m not hopeless, but I’m realistic. I realize that no matter what I do, it’s not going to make a difference in some of these people’s lives.

“You can only do so much. But you can talk to some of the most notorious people and discover that they were a decent person at one time. Something just got lost. That’s the person you try to reach, to pull them back.”

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Profile: Steve Sentman

Age: 35

Hometown: Lakewood

Family: Wife, Joni,who is also an Orange County probation officer

Education: Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, Cal State Long Beach

Background: Four years as a deputy probation counselor for Orange County Juvenile Hall; county juvenile probation officer for 18 months; probation officer for juveniles and adults with county’s Gang Violence Suppression Unit for four years; deputy probation officer for adults with Orange County Probation Department since July 1996; county probation liaison to Salvation Army adult rehabilitation program

On second chances: “Everybody here is offered the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and reenter society. Some people can do it on their own and some people need their hand held. Most of them will try because they do not want to go to prison.”

Source: Steve Sentman; Researched by RUSS LOAR / For The Times