Elizabeth’s Journal

Public Speaking to Criminal Justice Professionals

Tuesday morning I, along with three other women, am participating in another panel presented by the Texas Victim Services department. This will be my third panel; the first one was a couple of years ago, and the second a few months ago in Lockhardt. It will, however, be my biggest audience yet—I was told between 200 and 300 people (gulp!). I don’t make any notes or outlines of what I’m going to say since that runs the risk of making what I’m going to say canned or rehearsed, but that adds to the stress factor a bit too.

Previously the panels have been part of training for criminal justice professionals—probation and parole officers, police department victim assistants, counselors, etc. I’m told that the group tomorrow will also include lawyers and judges. Last time I did this, I received an offer afterwards to speak at the federal prison in Bastrop, but I’m not too sure how I’d feel about speaking to offenders, even if they are white-collar criminals, which is apparently what the Bastrop prison has.

Anyway, I find these occasions stressful but worth it—the feedback from people who attend say that our viewpoints and first-hand accounts are amazingly insightful and valuable to them in their work, and if I can help a future victim by providing some insight to a criminal justice professional, then at the moment at least, the stress is worth it. Also, since I generally had positive experiences with the police and DA’s office, it is nice to be able to say what was good about that and let people who work there know how much even a small gesture or effort can help—telling people about the way they do things right is every bit as important as telling them when they need improvement. But it will be nice when it’s over!