State vs County Probational Officer (corrections officer)

[koh86]

Im interested in applying as a deputy probational officer in La county and was just waiting for positions to open up when a friend ran into a P.o and after some small talk he recommened that I go for state p.o. My question is, what is the difference? Would I have to relocate out of La? I read the FAQ on the website and it said they will try to place you around your residence but wondering if this is true. I have a retail store in LA so relocation would be difficult for me.

I also have some other random questions about the position in general and if anyone could answer, that'd be wonderful!

1) I would love to work with juveniles to help and counsel them. Would I be applying for the Field deputy probation officer position 1 or do I have to first work in a detention center before I'm allowed to go out into the field?

2) would any of you happen to know when positions for la county will open up by any chance?

3) any other advice would be appreciated


Thanks in advance!

[omgwtfbbq]

I can address some of the differences between State Parole Agents and County Probation Officers, in general. Specific policies regarding job duties, promotion paths and things like that would be better answered by someone working for the agency you want to apply for. CaptMike is a user who works for LA Co. Probation who would be a wealth of info for you if that is where you intend to work.

In regards to the difference between Parole and Probation, it mainly comes down to a difference in the severity of offense. Offenses where the defendant ended up serving custody in State Prison, or in the case of Juveniles, The Division of Juvenile Justice (formerly California Youth Authority) generally lead to that offender being placed on Parole rather than Probation. (Emphasis on the word "generally" because there are exceptions to this that aren't of much use to someone who isn't working in the field yet).

Conversely, offender's who's crimes don't rise to the severity of a commitment in a State facility (which is a great many these days) can be placed on several different types of probation. Between Adult and Juvenile offenders there are 10 different grants of "probation" that an offender can be placed on.

(There are actually more but not all probation departments/superior courts utilize them, Drug Court, Mental Health Court, DUI Court, etc.)

In terms of the difference on a day to day level, it's generally accepted as fact that caseload ratios are much higher with Parole than most Probation Depts, and it's far more common that Parole Agents (PAs) work their caseloads in the field alone. It varies by department, but generally, POs work in teams or pairs.

I work for a relatively small county so I can't speak to much of what large counties like LA might be doing but it's my experience from talking to folks who work in large counties that sometimes divisions or units are setup within departments that do expressly field operations and others that do only in-office work. Small counties like mine have to do both.

Specifically, regarding if LA Co. is hiring, there was a thread regarding this going around for a while. For a few years now, LA has been trying to fill something like 900 positions. I'm pretty sure they are still accepting apps and holding testing.

Not sure if that makes anything more clear, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. Although, I would suggest throwing one CaptMike's way as he knows specific info about your area.

[Ubermcoupe]

CaptMike has great on-going thread about LACo Probation:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=704973

Probation Services are left to each of the 58 counties. There is no state-wide probation agency.

[omgwtfbbq]

Parole is generally not something for entry level applicants, but hopefully a CA Parole Agent will chime in.

I know for a long time, you had to spend a while as a CO first, but I have a coworker who was able to get on as a PA with PO experience.

[koh86]

Thanks so much for the info guys! Checked out that thread by captmike and it had some really useful info! So good to see LEO helping out and being so involved in the forums.

So state POs just deal with more severe cases. Still wondering about the whole relocation though if anyone knows the answer.

Thanks again!

[koh86]

Probation Services are left to each of the 58 counties. There is no state-wide probation agency.

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/career_opportunities/

[Ubermcoupe]

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/career_opportunities/

Generally speaking, "Probation" =/= "Parole." The biggest distinction being, although I will defer to experts of their field like CaptMike, one is more involved with the judicial process like pre-sentencing (Probation) and the other being more involved with early release from Prison (Parole). One deals exclusively with felons (Parole) while the other may be assigned to supervise court or formal probationers that could range from 1st time misdemeanor offenders to multiple-time felons (due in part to realignment?) Parole could be assigned state-wide whereas Probation is county specific.

[omgwtfbbq]

County Probation rarely deals with misdemeanor offenders anymore due to Public Safety Realignment. Most misdemeanants get summary probation with does not require contact with a probation officer.

Adult probationers who are actively monitored by POs are almost exclusively felons.

[Ubermcoupe]

County Probation rarely deals with misdemeanor offenders anymore due to Public Safety Realignment. Most misdemeanants get summary probation with does not require contact with a probation officer.

Adult probationers who are actively monitored by POs are almost exclusively felons.

Man, times have changed. Yay AB109

[BadKitty]

I know for a long time, you had to spend a while as a CO first, but I have a coworker who was able to get on as a PA with PO experience.

I think this is still the case. My understanding is that most state parole agents worked as Correctional Officers first. I personally know of about a half dozen guys that were picked up as Parole Agents in the last year or so. All were experienced Correctional Officers and had put in a number of years with CDC. All but one were from SoCal and were hired to state parole units in the same county where they live. The one guy who wasn't got picked up for a parole unit in the Bay Area. When I talked to him, he seemed to indicate that he was originally from the Bay Area and sounded excited to go "home". So, I'm not sure if he requested to go to a Bay Area unit or if that's what they happened to offer him.

[formulad97]

In my unit, all were Sgt's or above before getting selected by DAPO. When they do hire, they look for experienced individuals. In my academy, over half were prior probation officers.

[99bc99]

Just to clarify some things. The majority of people coming out of prison are now being supervised by county probation departments.

This is due to AB 109. The offenders are released on "Post Release Community Supervision", PRCS, and supervised by county probation departments. Numerous crimes can land a person in prison. Once they get out only the following people are supervised by parole:

Sex offenders sentenced to prison, people convicted of "serious/violent" felonies. Serious/violent felonies are delineated in penal code sections PC 1192.7 and PC 667.5.

What does that mean though? It means the above penal code sections list what "serious and violent" felonies are in California like rape, robbery, murder, etc. Every other person that lands in prison and doesn't have one of the above crimes is supervised by probation upon release.

Crimes left off the serious/violent list, and supervised by probation after prison, include the following (taken from the "no on prop 57" website).

Rape by intoxication
Rape of an unconscious person
Human trafficking involving sex act with minors
Drive-by shooting
Assault with a deadly weapon
Taking a hostage
Domestic violence involving trauma
Supplying a firearm to a gang member
Lewd acts upon a child
Hate crime causing physical injury
Failing to register as a sex offender
Arson causing great bodily injury
Felon obtaining a firearm
Discharging a firearm on school grounds
False imprisonment of an elder

Previously, probation officers dealt with people before they went to prison. Since AB 109, probation officers deal with people who do go to prison. Currently our agency has several people released from prison with manslaughter convictions. Before AB 109 that never would have happened.

Hope this helps.

[CaptMike]

At last count, la county probation has accepted over 18000 prcs coming back from prison.

[omgwtfbbq]

What does that mean though? It means the above penal code sections list what "serious and violent" felonies are in California like rape, robbery, murder, etc. Every other person that lands in prison and doesn't have one of the above crimes is supervised by probation upon release.

Crimes left off the serious/violent list, and supervised by probation after prison, include the following (taken from the "no on prop 57" website).

Rape by intoxication
Rape of an unconscious person
Human trafficking involving sex act with minors
Drive-by shooting
Assault with a deadly weapon
Taking a hostage
Domestic violence involving trauma
Supplying a firearm to a gang member
Lewd acts upon a child
Hate crime causing physical injury
Failing to register as a sex offender
Arson causing great bodily injury
Felon obtaining a firearm
Discharging a firearm on school grounds
False imprisonment of an elder

I'll go ahead and jump on the "AB109 issues" bandwagon. The other issue, is that the regulations for "Non, non, nons" (NNNs) (Non-serious, Non-violent, Non- Sex offences) was that it specifically applied only to the most recently sentenced complaint. Meaning that an inmate with a prior serious, violent, or sex offense was/is still eligible for PRCS as long as the conviction they are serving a sentence on isn't one.

One of my first offenders was a guy on PRCS for 273.5(a)PC, felony DV. He had been on local probation and violated several times, eventually went to state prison and was released via PRCS back to us. Well, 273.5(a)PC certainly is a NNN but he had a prior 261PC (Rape) and a prior 203PC (Mayhem) conviction. That guy's not any less dangerous than the dude who is on parole for a 261 or 203.

[dtl1986]

Sorry to bump an old thread but if you're interested in working with juveniles, you should consider applying for the either the Youth Correctional Officer or Youth Correctional Counselors series with CDCR.

See link for additional information:

http://cdcr.ca.gov/Career_Opportunities/POR/joinourteam.html

Unfortunately, the filing date has already passed but keep an eye out for future opportunities to apply.