LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal officials have ended six years of special oversight of Los Angeles County’s juvenile probation camps, saying the facilities have been brought up to full compliance, according to a report.
A settlement agreement between the county and U.S. Department of Justice concluded that mandated reforms have improved conditions and prevented abuse of young offenders, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday (https://lat.ms/1FaPEyD ).
The Justice Department began investigating conditions in the county’s 19 probation camps in 2006, after repeated reports of abuses. Two years later, the county agreed to a series of reforms that included measures to prevent mistreatment of minors and misconduct by probation officers, as well as ensure camps were adequately staffed.
Later, conditions were added requiring expanded programs to keep teens from entering juvenile lockups, the newspaper said.
The monitoring was supposed to end in 2012. But it was extended two years when the department fell short on reforms.
Turning the camps around to the point that the federal monitoring can end is “a huge accomplishment,” Probation Chief Jerry Powers, who took over the department in late 2011, told the Times.
The monitoring team found that the county made changes to prevent excessive use of force, including overuse of pepper spray by staff, and prevent misconduct such as drinking on the job, according to the report. Other measures were implemented to reduce youth-on-youth violence, prevent suicide and help young inmates transition back into society.
The number of youths in juvenile halls and camps has decreased substantially during the last few years, the newspaper said. But the federal monitors still said the county should explore policies allowing more low- and medium-risk juvenile offenders to be cited and released, rather than locked up until their court dates.
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Information from: Los Angeles Times, https://www.latimes.com/
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