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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| California probation department pleads for Newsom's help supervising violent ex-cons: 'Never been like this' |
| 2025-02-10 |
| [FoxNews] The California agency has had to shift probation officers to its juvenile halls amid a staff shortage The department charged with supervising the thousands of people on probation in Los Angeles County is asking for local authorities to take over duties from its officers, citing a "significant void" in supervising high-risk probationers amid staffing shortages. A mutual aid request sent by Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa in December to the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES) asks for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and local police agencies to conduct compliance checks on probationers over a one-year period. The request came after Rosa reassigned field officers to the county juvenile halls to cover for staffing shortages there. "This reallocation has created a void in the supervision of probationers, which presents a risk to public safety," Rosa wrote in the memo. "Probation is requesting mutual aid support from state, county, and city law enforcement agencies to conduct compliance checks on probationers and ensure the safety of communities." "This crisis has created an unsafe environment for juveniles, probation staff, educators, medical personnel, and community organizations, increasing the risk to public safety," he added. "To address this, the Chief Probation Officer has redirected all field probation officers to juvenile institutions to ensure adequate staffing. However, this move creates a significant void in the supervision of high-risk probationers, including those convicted of sexual assault, domestic violence, gang-related crimes, and other offenses." An OES spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the state's role is to facilitate conversations between local entities for the Probation Department to get the assistance it needs, unless it specially asks for state-supported mutual assistance. "The state has no authority to approve mutual aid in a situation such as this," Amy Palmer, an OES spokesperson, said of Rosa's request. The probation chief requested 150 peace officers to provide supervision for adult and juvenile probationers for a one-year period, according to a fact sheet provided to Fox News Digital. Under the terms of the proposal, the Probation Department would provide an "armed liaison from Special Enforcement Operations" to assist with the compliance checks "through routine or targeted contacts." Probation officers would be responsible for collecting and sharing data and police officers would be responsible for performing checks and making arrests in their cities. As an incentive, the department will reimburse participating police agencies the equivalent of two work hours for each completed compliance check, as well as the time it took to complete the check. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |