Published: July 31, 2008 11:21 pm            

There's a new chief parole officer in town

For some people, success is measured in numbers.

For Beverly Parker, the new chief parole officer for the Dalton office of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, success is measured in people.

For all the horror stories of people committing crimes while out on parole, there are success stories, Parker says. Last year, more than 75 percent of the former prisoners supervised by the Dalton office successfully completed their parole programs, ranking Dalton 20th in the state in terms of success rate out of 50 district offices. In Georgia, the successful parole completion rate is 61 percent. Nationwide, it is 42 percent.

The Dalton office is at 710 S. Hamilton St. near Providence Ministries. Nine people are employed there. The office is responsible for helping people released from prison adapt to life outside the prison walls. Parker became chief parole officer on July 1.

Parker said she has had her share of success stories since beginning with the parole board in January 1985. Several years ago, she was at a gas station when a man called her name. The man was someone Parker knew well from her job as a parole officer in metro Atlanta. Convicted of murder when he was 17, he was placed on parole under Parker’s supervision. He did so well that Parker recommended his sentence be commuted. The state parole board agreed.

At their chance meeting, Parker learned that the man was now married, had two children and was running his father’s business.

Transitioning prisoners into successful lives once they are released is the focus of the parole office, Parker said.

“Everything we do is geared toward that transition of the offender,” she said. “Being a Christian, I want to give someone that opportunity. They have the ability if they choose to make better choices in the future.”

Parker has always been interested in criminal justice. Her father, Carlos Millsap, was a major in the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office.

“As a little girl, I was always into mysteries and murder mysteries,” she said. “My goal was to be a detective.”

While at State University of West Georgia she began studying criminal justice and “absolutely loved it,” she said.

The state was recruiting heavily for probation officers so she joined the parole board. Her first assignment in metro Atlanta was a shock.

“I saw things I had never seen before, heard things I never heard before,” she said. “I had never dealt with criminals before.”

Her brothers followed her into law enforcement. Clark Millsap is the Bartow County sheriff. Carey Millsap is now the major in the sheriff’s office. Craig Millsap is the Bartow County fire chief.

Even though Parker is the oldest, “the running joke is that I am the youngest,” she said, because of her youthful look.

Parker has a daughter, Meagan, 20, who is studying to be a paralegal, and a son, Matt, who is 16 and is a junior at Cass High School in Cartersville and a member of the state championship wrestling team.

She is married to Paul Parker, who is chief parole officer at the Marietta district office of the parole board. An article in the Marietta Daily Journal recently featured the Marietta office, which is ranked fourth in the state in the percentage of parolees that complete its program.

Parker said she wants to build on Dalton’s success.

“My goal is to finish in the top 20,” she said. “I’m hoping under my leadership we will be able to do that.”

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.