At least 170 Los Angeles County Probation Department employees have
\ncommitted misconduct — including cases of excessive force and abuse —
\nbut have so far escaped punishment because there is not enough staff to
\nmete out discipline, officials said Tuesday.
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\n"We have too many cases and not enough staff," interim chief Cal
\nRemington said in an interview with The Times. "I’m not happy with the
\ntime it takes to complete an investigation and determine the
\ndiscipline."
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\nDepartment investigations have concluded that the employees committed
\nmisconduct and should face discipline ranging from written reprimands
\nto terminations, Remington said. Of the 170 employees, most are sworn
\nofficers and about half the cases involved allegations of abuse of
\njuvenile probationers. Most of the employees remain on the job, and it
\nwas unclear if they ultimately would be punished.
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\nThe disclosures come after a Times story revealed that juvenile
\nprobation officers in recent years have been convicted of crimes or
\ndisciplined for inappropriate conduct involving current or former
\nprobationers, including several cases of officers molesting or beating
\nyouths in their care.<\/p>\n