Thousands of probationers in Los Angeles County have lacked supervision since the Probation Department redeployed most of its field officers, supervisors and directors to the troubled Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall after 40% of the facility’s staff called out on Easter Sunday.

Multiple sources in the department, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, told the Southern California News Group that some area offices now only have one or two sworn officers on duty at a time. The largest office in the system, located in South Los Angeles, handles about 1,600 clients and has two officers, meaning that each is now responsible for 800 clients, the sources said.

“You walk through any area office, it’s desolate,” one source said. “They’re all gone.”

The American Probation and Parole Association recommends a case-to-staff ratio of 20 to 200 per officer, depending on the risk score of the clients involved. Officers overseeing the highest risk probationers are recommended to have the lowest amount of cases.

‘Realistic plan’ needed

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is now calling on the Probation Department’s leadership to “implement an immediate, realistic plan that both triages the crisis at Los Padrinos and sets us back on track to stabilize the entire system.”

The decision to direct resources to Los Padrinos reflects the urgency of that facility’s situation, she said, but “it must not come at the expense of broader community safety and oversight.”

“We need creative, accountable solutions to manage caseloads and ensure effective supervision — because having some officers responsible for 800 cases is simply unacceptable,” Barger said. “That includes a serious look at whether current staffing policies are making the best use of available personnel, including those on limited duty.”

In a statement, Supervisor Janice Hahn said the situation is not sustainable.

“I am very concerned about how those released on probation across the county are getting the support and supervision they need, and that the public deserves, given how many probation officers are diverted to Los Padrinos,” she said. “I continue to call on our probation officers assigned to Los Padrinos to show up to work in their assigned shifts.”

No redeployment warning

The latest redeployment order triggered alarm bells throughout the department, as officers were suddenly diverted last week without warning. Many considered the existing caseloads too high.

In February, the Probation Department had 121 officers overseeing 23,641 adult cases and 47 officers supervising 2,032 juveniles, according to data presented to the Probation Oversight Commission in March.

The offices handling adults released early under AB 109 — the state’s prison realignment law of 2011 — had a total case-to-staff ratio of 150 to 1 at the time. Cases involving sex registrants, one of the highest risk categories, had an estimated ratio of 131 to 1, according to discussion at the POC’s March 13 meeting. In the past, the department typically would have had two to four times as many officers working those cases, said Alex Nieto, acting deputy director for adult probation, at the meeting.

Family violence had 15,800 cases overseen by approximately 40 officers, according to Nieto. That’s 395 cases per officer.

“We’re all doing more with less. It’s affected morale, I’m not going to sit here and say it hasn’t, but everyone is doing more,” Nieto said at the time. “Based on the numbers, we don’t spend as much time with each client.”

Deepening staff crisis

Sources say those numbers have only gotten worse.

While Los Padrinos houses about 300 juveniles total, roughly 4,000 adults and 2,000 juveniles overseen by the now depleted field offices are considered “high risk,” according to the Los Angeles County Deputy Probation Officers’ Union.

“We are extremely concerned about the Chief’s orders to deploy probation officers to Los Padrinos, leaving over 6,000 high-risk probationers unsupervised in our neighborhoods,” said Dwight Thompson, a deputy probation officer and field vice president for Local 685. “This move compromises public safety and deprives the Courts of the expert testimony needed to make informed decisions about these offenders.”

The union says the field offices are now “nearly empty” and stated that each field office now has “at most one or two deputy probation officers” to supervise the clients assigned to it, according to a statement.

An email sent to staff by a senior probation director and provided to the Southern California News Group by multiple sources indicated that “all full duty staff (directors, supervisors and DPO IIs) will be deployed to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall until further notice” and that only one supervisor would remain in the area office.

‘Public safety is paramount’

Vicky Waters, a spokesperson for Probation Department, denied that only two officers remained at the South L.A. office, saying the staffing is a “bit higher than what you were told.” She did not respond to a request to provide updated caseload figures, or the exact number of officers assigned to the South L.A. office.

“I guess it’s very confusing to hear some sworn officers tell you they don’t agree with deployments where they are needed,” Waters wrote in an email. “That’s the inherent job of sworn officers and public servants. We go where we are most needed, and in this case, our charge is public safety, inside and outside the institutions. It’s also very disappointing to hear some staff may be telling you things that are in direct conflict with their oaths, and the department’s charge and goals.”

The department’s Special Enforcement Operations teams, working alongside county and city law enforcement agencies, are continuing to supervise probationers in the community, she said. A memorandum of understanding that would allow local law enforcement agencies to conduct “compliance checks” on the department’s behalf is being finalized, according to Waters.

“We are utilizing our resources and partnerships to ensure public safety both at the juvenile facilities and the community,” she said. “Public safety is paramount for our department, and anyone who says the contrary is plain wrong.”

Confusion among probationers

Members of the Probation Oversight Commission have repeatedly described receiving complaints that probation officers are not available to clients, or that probationers do not know who their probation officer is at any given moment due to the constant shuffling.

The Deputy Probation Officers’ Union in its statement said the redeployment is depriving the courts of testimony from field officers that is used when determining probation or placement for a defendant.

The mass call-out on Easter Sunday came just days after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Miguel Espinoza ordered the Probation Department to come up with a plan to depopulate Los Padrinos by May 2. The Downey detention facility has been under scrutiny for more than a year and was ordered closed by the Board of State and Community Corrections, the regulatory body overseeing California’s juvenile facilities, in December after failing inspection after inspection due to short staffing.

But the county refused to comply, attempting to overturn that determination through appeals and, most recently, a lawsuit against the state. Espinoza, following four court hearings, ruled that the facility could not continue to operate Los Padrinos at its current capacity and must either reduce the population enough to pass a new state inspection or close completely.

Call-outs coordinated?

Rumors circulated earlier last week that the call-outs were part of a coordinated “sickout” protest often referred to as a “blue flu.” But Waters, the department’s spokesperson, said the Probation Department had no credible information to support that. There was not a significant amount of call-outs the next day, she said.

“However, we take all allegations of staff misconduct seriously and, should credible information arise regarding any level of coordination that resulted in the staffing shortage on Sunday, it will be reviewed and the appropriate action will be taken,” she said.

In its statement, the probation officers’ union alleged the department’s call-out numbers are “consistently inflated.”

While the field offices struggle with increased caseloads, hundreds of field officers remain on forced leaves of absence or are rotating in and out of a limited number of temporary positions for those with work restrictions.

The department sent the officers home last year because their restrictions prevented them from being redeployed to the juvenile hall. The officers have argued that their injuries or conditions would not impact their ability to work in the field offices, which requires much less physical activity, and have, in some cases, produced doctor’s notes to that effect.

A class-action lawsuit, on behalf of an estimated class of up to 800 officers, was filed last year to challenge the leaves. The department maintains all sworn officers must be able to meet the full standards of a police officer, even while working a desk job, and that there are not enough limited-duty positions available for all of the officers on leave.

One officer who returned on a 90-day rotation said he was placed back at his old desk and performed the same duties, but is only being permitted to work half the year.

Other officers have burned through sick and vacation time to cover the absences and are now experiencing financial hardship, with one recent retiree telling the Southern California News Group she retired early to avoid a foreclosure on her home.