Keeping a close watch

Probation program directs resources at high-risk offenders

Published February 9, 2005 at midnight

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Checking in: Lisa Maes, 42, talks with probation officer Gary Burgin at her Aurora home last month during a weekly meeting. Maes pleaded guilty to felony menacing, driving while ability impaired and criminal mischief in 2002 after a fight with her now-ex-husband. Burgin gives intensive supervision to high-risk domestic offenders.

Story by Sarah Huntley

Photos by Linda McConnell

Four years ago, probation officer Gary Burgin supervised more than 250 domestic violence offenders.

Now he monitors 35.

But that doesn't mean he has time on his hands.

Burgin's clientele covers Arapahoe, Douglas, Lincoln and Elbert counties. Unlike most of his colleagues who meet with a probationer once every three to six weeks, Burgin checks in weekly. He tries to attend every court hearing. In some cases, he uses global positioning satellite equipment to track perpetrators down to their longitude and latitude, down to the second, and if they are moving, down to their speed, to ensure they are following the rules.

Burgin is battling formidable odds.

His position is part of an innovative probation effort started in the 18th Judicial District in 2002.

Burgin's caseload, for a variety of reasons, has been classified high risk. It could be the victim is in a new relationship. There might have been more than one assault. Sometimes the person is struggling with drugs.

"They are real resistant in the beginning," Burgin said of his clients. "They are telling me I have all the control over their lives, but I tell them I don't have any control."

Their actions, he says, are up to them. So are the consequences.

"With a lot of these offenders, it's power and control stuff. They are ready to argue."

Burgin, who works closely with assessment officer Laura Ansart and victims coordinator Tracie Lorenz, hopes to break that pattern.

Ansart determines who makes Burgin's caseload, based on analyis that includes an offender's situation, record and potential for causing harm. It also hinges on instinct.

"We always say, 'Trust your gut feeling,'" Lorenz said.

Lorenz keeps in frequent communication with victims. Recent figures showed her number of client contacts equals the total contacts by four other advocates in her office.

Probation supervisor David Simental, who headed the program until recently, said the increased attention is essential to changing lives.

"These guys aren't just committing little crimes. They are hurting people all the time," he said.

The future of the program is currently under discussion. Its yearly budget is about $187,000, 45 percent of which comes from federal grants that run out this year. The district is hoping to absorb the cost.

Since 2002, the team has worked with 152 clients. No victims have been killed or hospitalized. One perpetrator committed suicide.

Sixty-six offenders were transferred later to lighter supervision. Sixty-two had their probation revoked. Most who failed probation went to prison, jail or community corrections.

"We want to nip it in the bud," Simental said.

But there's also reason for hope.

Burgin recently drove out to Aurora to visit one of his longtime clients.

Lisa Maes, 42, has been under supervision since 2002, when she pleaded guilty to felony menacing, driving while ability impaired and criminal mischief. Her arrest stemmed from a fight with her now-ex-husband.

The couple, separated a year, had met to split their assets. Both had been drinking, Maes said.

Maes said her husband beat her and dumped a trash can over her head. She tried to drive away. When he climbed onto the hood of her car, Maes stepped on the gas pedal, pinning him against the wall.

"After all those years," she said, "I snapped."

Maes' husband survived and is now serving 10 years in prison for drugs and domestic violence.

Maes had difficulty accepting her culpability. But she says Burgin has made a positive difference.

Her family has moved into a townhome. She is attending alcohol and domestic violence classes.

"I've come a long way," she said.

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