Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas wants the county’s chief executive, auditor-controller and probation chief to provide a detailed, confidential accounting of how the county’s Probation Department investigates staff misconduct and abuse.
The directive follows a Times article about probation officers who were convicted of crimes or disciplined for inappropriate conduct involving current or former probationers, including several cases of officers molesting or beating youths in their care.
On Friday, Ridley-Thomas submitted a motion for consideration at next week’s Board of Supervisors meeting that calls for the three county offices to review the operations of probation’s Child Abuse Special Investigations Unit and issue a confidential report within two months.
The report would address, among other things, investigators’ experience and training, caseloads, the length of their investigations, how many resulted in disciplinary actions and prosecutions, the possibility of creating an Office of Independent Review with oversight over the department, circumstances that gave rise to opportunities for inappropriate relationships between probation personnel and minors, and recommendations about how such misconduct and abuse can be prevented.
Ridley-Thomas also called for the report to include a comparative analysis of similar units at probation departments in other counties.
He requested that the report be reviewed by the county counsel and submitted to supervisors in closed session.
The motion expands on the supervisor’s proposal earlier this week that the Probation Department expand its internal affairs staff.
Several other county leaders offered alternate proposals this week.
Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Mike Antonovich have proposed that the Office of Independent Review, which monitors the Sheriff’s Department, evaluate the Probation Department’s internal affairs and child abuse investigations.
The Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families called for an audit of the county’s probation ombudsman and the grievance process for youths in county detention halls and camps.
Interim probation chief Cal Remington, who is in the midst of assessing the department before newly appointed director Donald Blevins takes over April 19, has said he welcomed the earlier proposals.
–Molly Hennessy-Fiske