< Previous70 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 can be part of the age of racial reckoning, taking the first steps on this important journey to become an ally in the movement for racial justice. 1. Take professional responsibility for your own education regarding implicit biases and explore the way they impact your work. Kendi (2019) says, “the heartbeat of racism is denial” and the “heartbeat of anti-racism is confession.” To truly transform in the areas of equity and ra- cial competency, understanding implicit bias is foundational. Studying the ways unconscious judgments are made by all people leads us to recognize our own contribution to the problem. While un- conscious biases are not intentional, they have been shown to have a significant impact on our behavior. On the bright side, they can be changed with intention- al cognitive intervention (Staats, Capatos- to, Tenney, & Mamo, 2017). Participate in education through webinars, in-person, or even by just seeking out and read- ing pertinent articles and studies. What you learn will be a big step forward in the process of creating a more just pro- bation and parole practice. Becoming knowledgeable about implicit bias may produce some discomfort, but don’t let that be a roadblock. Perhaps you will find yourself prone to dismiss or discount what you have discovered, but don’t take that path. Instead, continue the effort by figuring out why you have become un- comfortable in the first place. When we move through the discomfort of knowing that we could be responsible for harbor- ing biases against others unintentionally, we get to a place of empowerment to change it, making us better probation and parole agents. Aside from producing more professional and ethical behavior, it allows each practitioner an increased ability to do genuine public safety work based on reality rather than perceived falsities. 2. Know what research tells us about the ways we discriminate and apply them to a probation/parole context. Research has shown many settings and many ways in which bias is exhibited, and we can 71 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION take that as our cue to engage in self- checks on biases that can impact our work. These self-checks can bring hu- manity back into interactions that were previously somewhat dehumanizing due to biases. For example, research shows people tend to view black girls as less innocent, older than their actual age, and in less need of support com- pared to white girls (Epstein, Blake, & Gonzalez, 2017). Awareness of this problem might prove particularly helpful to youth probation agents, who can double check themselves, asking “Am I remembering this girl is 14 years old, not 17?” or “Am I providing a response that will support her needs instead of punishing her?” when considering re- sponses to black girls’ behaviors. Mak- ing the wrong choice due to implicit bias can have a significant impact on a child’s life. Consider too that years of re- search has consistently found that black men are viewed as more dangerous and threatening than white counter- parts (Trawalter et al., 2008; Carbado & Rock 2016). This might mean the adult parole agent would benefit from checking for unconscious bias, asking “Would I be assessing this level of risk if this person had the same behavior but was white?” It might mean that those who write pre-sentence investiga- tions should check their work for fidelity in recommendations, asking “Am I rec- ommending the same interventions for this person as I would for a white client with the same set of facts?” Moreover, it is beneficial to be aware that people of color are often perceived as less in need of mental health services than whites (Breslau, et al., 2017), which should prompt the self-aware officer to ask, “Would I recommend a mental health or treatment intervention here instead of jail time if this person were white?” Sometimes the answer might change one’s decision, and sometimes not, and it can bring pain when we 72 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 experience the stunning moments where we see our biases in action. But using an extra eye to bring to the forefront of our awareness that which has previous- ly been unconscious can facilitate new practices and promote more equitable, just treatment. Exploring the data accu- mulating from studies of other industries and thereby seeing how biases present themselves in healthcare, business, and housing can serve as caution flags for probation and parole practitioners. It is time to think that “Hey, there might be something here to look at. I’m going to do my duty to make sure I don’t make the same mistake.” 3. Advocate for the hiring of black and brown people. As “line” staff, we may not have the lever-pulling power to make things happen in a hiring capac- ity, but we do have the power to let those who do know we are watching. While many strides have been made to weed out initial hiring bias using an- onymizing elements, at the end of the day, people in power positions make the call and decide who makes the cut and who is sent home disappointed. The bottom line is that probation and parole practitioners can put voice to the value of equity by speaking to agency supervisors or decision makers about hiring diverse prac- titioners when positions open within one’s agency. There is a vast spectrum of ways to in- troduce this influence. It can involve a hallway conversation about how you saw the posting and are looking forward to seeing the opportu- nity that diversity in the hiring pool may bring. It can mean making a formal declaration of your value statement by a letter or email to those in power, in essence putting them on notice that diversity is a value with high stature in your eyes and that as an employee you sup- port all efforts, practices, and actions which bring black, brown, and all under-represented people to positions in your division. These “we are watching” measures speak truth to power and help shape the atmosphere toward inten- tionality of inclusivity.73 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION A Final Word The nature of the actions described above is far different than attending mandatory, “check-off-the-box” training sessions where content can be easily left at the training room door. These actions are for courageous workers on the front line looking to keep their practice ethical and genuine. They are for those who want to restore the humanity our biases are taking away. They are also for those in the thick of case management who are making recommendations and weaving the fabric of the justice blanket. The way forward will not be easy, but it can be done. Again, we must all remember that policy and systemic changes must occur in this age of justice reformation, but it cannot stop there. Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded us, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” As agents, we must each take responsibility for a more ethical and equitable probation and parole practice. As the call for systemic change continues, let us meet it with individual transformation; becoming an ally to the racial justice movement of our country, making us an ally to justice for all.74 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 Author’s bio: Lindsay Jayawardena is a probation agent at Carver County Court Services in the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota. She has an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a focus on teaching adult learners. She manages a medium-high risk youth caseload and is a trained mediator and cognitive skills group facilitator. Her career and writings are focused on creative youth empowerment and supervision strategies responsive to race, culture, and impacts of poverty on family systems. The author can be reached 75 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION Staats, C., Capatosto, K., Tenney, L., & Mamo, S. (2017). Implicit Bias Review. Columbus: The Ohio State University Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. The Pew Charitable Trusts. (2018). Probation and Parole Systems Marked by High Stakes, Missed Opportunities. Washington D.C.: The Pew Charitable Trusts. Trawalter, S., et al., Attending to Threat: Race- based Patterns of Selective Attention, 44 J. EXPERIMENTAL SOC. PSYCHOL. 1322, 1323 (2008) United States Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. (2020). Corrections Populations in the United States, 2017- 2018. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Justice. References Breslau, J., Cefalu, M., Wong, E. C., Burnam, M. A., Hunter, G. P., Florez, K. R., & Collins, R. L. (2017). Racial/ethnic differences in perception of need for mental health treatment in a US national sample. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 52(8), 929–937. Carbado, D. W., & Rock, P. (2016, Winter). What exposes African Americans to police violence? Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 51(1), 159-187. American Probation and Parole Association. (2021, April 6). Code of Epstein, R., Blake, J. J., & Gonzalez, T. (2017). Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood. Washington D.C.: Georgetown School of Law Center on Poverty and Inequity. Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to be an Anti-Racist. New York: One World.76 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 Serve your community. Stand for justice. Connect with others. Ready to make a deeper impact in your community? JOIN TODAY! 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