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Angela Beecher

Angela and the CSC: a perfect fit

Angela Beecher is fit for the job. Fit, as in working out at least four times a week, cycling whenever time permits, camping in the summer, and---on those rare occasions she can find a soul brave enough to accompany her---a bit of skydiving.

"I think it's important to stay fit," says Angela, a parole officer with the Team Supervision Unit (TSU) in Toronto. "Important personally, and important professionally." As a parole officer, she explains, you have to be both confident and comfortable. And staying fit helps make that possible.

"Being a parole officer is a difficult job," says Angela. "It can wear you down over time if you're not careful." That's especially true in her job at TSU where she sees high-need, high-risk parolees up to three times a week, often in their homes. The work requires a strong character, as well as the ability to establish a strong relationship with the parolee while remaining impartial about his or her situation. That's not always easy, considering many of her clients know very little about life outside of prison. Some, she says, "don't even know how to open a bank account."

Throw in the high-risk factor and it's clear why parole officers at TSU work in pairs. "If there are any concerns, we'll see a client together," she says. "And we also do curfew checks together." In fact, Angela and her partner take on each other's workload when one or the other is away for any reason.

Though the Correctional Service of Canada is her first job following University, Angela says it wasn't her first choice. "Actually, being a parole officer wasn't even on my list of possibilities when I was at university," she laughs. Then she met Shelley Hassard, at the time the director of the Team Supervision Unit & Downtown Toronto Parole Office.

"It was while I was completing a research paper on intensive supervision programs for paroled offenders. I was just finishing up my MA in Criminology and Ms. Hassard suggested I interview for a summer student position as a Parole Officer." She got the position, then decided to compete for a term position as a Parole Officer a few months later. She got that position, as well.

"I worked at the Downtown Toronto Parole Office from July 1998 to September 2000 as a term Parole Officer. In addition, I did some work for the Research Branch, collecting information about the recidivism rate for parolees. In September 2000, I was seconded to the Team Supervision Unit. I've been here since."

It was also while Angela was in university that she pursued her interest in jumping out of airplanes, going skydiving with her friends whenever they had the time or the inclination. "Nowadays," she says, "I prefer more practical extracurricular activities." At the top of the list these days is sculpting with clay.

"I've always been semi-artistic," she says, "and I've always loved to work with clay. I just never pursued it." Like her physical pursuits, sculpting will remain a hobby for now. But it, too, will make it that much easier to handle the stress of her work. Stressful, yes, but also stimulating and challenging.

In fact, Angela says no matter where her career takes her, she'll always look back on her experience at the TSU fondly. "I've never been disappointed with the job or my colleagues," she says. "With the possible exception of the paperwork, it's been just great."