New Presence Welcome In Edgecliff Community Corrections Officer Kent Gonzalez Moves Into Substation

Sat., Oct. 9, 1999

By Robin Rivers robinr@spokesman.com

The Edgecliff neighborhood now has a new edge in enforcing the law.

His name is Kent Gonzalez.

Ex-cons will know this guy well. He’s the one those participating in early prison release programs check in with. He’s the one who can help them get their lives in order or put them back behind bars.

He’s a Washington State Department of Corrections community corrections officer - the first of his kind to set up shop in a Spokane County Sheriff’s SCOPE substation.

And Gonzalez is hoping that working among the folks he’s is supervising can make a real dent in Valley crime.

“This sort of contact with people will provide a lot better feedback,” said Gonzalez, who has worked as a community corrections officer for about five years. “People around the offender know what’s going on.

“It will give us a much quicker picture of who is serious about rehabilitation and those who are trying to manipulate us. Then we can go in and deal with the problem before we have to re-arrest them.”

Gonzalez moved into his new home this week after working from the Department of Corrections’ Valley office.

At the substation, he will be able to meet with ex-offenders under his supervision and keep closer tabs on their activities.

That thrills folks in Edgecliff who strive to keep their small piece of the Valley a safe, inviting place to live.

“This is a great chance for us to work together to fight crime,” said Jackie Ash, president of Edgecliff SCOPE. “He can see people right at the substation and they will know somebody is watching them.”

To work with a group that is so active also motivates Gonzalez.

“This puts us ahead of the game, working with a group that is very motivated to make a change in the community,” he said.

Gonzalez brings considerable experience to the job.

He started his corrections career in Western Washington as a prison worker and counselor before transferring to Pine Lodge Pre-Release Center in 1991. He worked as a counselor there until 1994, when he decided to move into field work as a community corrections officer.

While Gonzalez is the first community corrections officer in a county substation, he won’t be the last.

As a part of the Department of Corrections initiatives to decentralize, community corrections officers will continue to relocate in SCOPE stations as space permits. City COPS substations already house a number of corrections officers.

“Being in the community you work in is a vital part of the job,” Gonzalez said.

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