Chief Jerry Powers

[Probation] – “Criminal conduct on the part of our employees will not be tolerated and is not acceptable in a professional law enforcement organization.  We will hold our employees to the highest standards and as such the vast majority will and have exceeded those standards.  Those that don’t will not be members of our organization going forward.”  That is what Chief Probation Officer Jerry Powers said when he took the helm of the nation’s largest Probation Department in 2011.

Two short years after implementing major reforms in the areas of discipline, investigations and hiring practices, the Probation Department has achieved a 56.7-percent decline in arrests from 2011 to 2013; nearly one-third of that decline occurred last year (2013).  Concurrently the number of staff discharged in the department increased by 180 percent, and the number of staff who resigned in lieu of being discharged increased five-fold.

“Where we have found misconduct, we have taken immediate action,” says Chief Powers, “Investigations into on- and off-duty misconduct are a top priority. We are seeing results due in large part to a more robust internal affairs investigative division and an increased emphasis and enforcement of clearly communicated performance and behavior expectations for our staff.”

In place:

* Standard first-time DUI now results in a minimum discipline of 15 days suspension without pay. Aggravating factors can push up the number of days to as high as 25 days. Aggravating factors include extremely high blood alcohol, attempting to deceive law enforcement, and failure to disclose police contact to the department.

* Expanded internal investigations team.

* Professionalized procedures for the arrest unit

* New special investigations unit comprised of 4 Supervising Deputy Probation Officers

* Backgrounds and performance management moved from Human Resources to internal affairs unit called the Professional Standards Unit

“I think the department’s focus on clarity and deterrence is beginning to bear fruit,” says Robert Miller, Deputy Chief Attorney for the Office of Independent Review. The OIR was approved back in 2010 to work with the Probation Department.