Probation Agency Asks Jail Consultant’s Help

The Orange County Probation Department, concerned about overcrowding at Juvenile Hall, has asked the county’s new jail consultant for help and told the Board of Supervisors in a report Tuesday that a wide range of prevention programs will be needed to solve the problem.

In its report, the department advocated more day schools, improved drug-abuse treatment, help for emotionally disturbed juveniles and special programs to combat gangs.

“We need more beds, but as the county’s population grows and crime increases, we’re going to have to find more alternatives to keeping young people out of Juvenile Hall,” chief probation officer Michael A. Schumacher said in an interview.

Capacity Exceeded

The population at Juvenile Hall has gone beyond the facility’s state-rated capacity of 334 twice in the last week. The number of inmates reached 336 Friday and 341 Tuesday. The Probation Department’s two youth camps and its guidance center are near capacity almost every day.

“We’re never over by very much, and the situation is not nearly as serious as last year,” Schumacher said. “But it’s an ongoing concern.”

During the first seven months of 1986, Juvenile Hall was over its capacity about 50% of the time, according to figures the Probation Department provided the county’s Juvenile Justice Commission.

Schumacher said the number of inmates in the hall has exceeded its capacity five times in the last seven weeks.

Inspection Asked

Schumacher has asked Lawrence G. (Bud) Grossman to inspect Juvenile Hall and address a variety of issues included in a recent American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, including overcrowding. Grossman, appointed by a federal judge to oversee Orange County Jail operations as a special master two years ago, was hired by the county in January as a jail consultant.

“We simply decided to take advantage of his expertise,” Schumacher said.

The lawsuit, filed last summer, complains about physical abuse by Juvenile Hall guards and particularly about a policy of tying down some of the wards they are trying to control. The ACLU also complains that conditions at the hall are poor because of overcrowding.

“We’ve laid out for him (Grossman) the issues the ACLU has raised, and we’ve given him our own response,” Schumacher said. “We just think it would be helpful to have someone with his knowledge give us another opinion.”

Grossman said he intends to conduct a “general evaluation” that may address ways to reduce overcrowding.

Alternative Programs

The alternative treatment programs outlined in the report to the supervisors Tuesday are geared toward specific problems of juveniles on probation.

Out of 2,238 juveniles now on probation, 401 have had truancy problems and another 367 are neither attending school nor working, according to the report. Also, 355 are heavy drug users, the report says.

And Schumacher said more than 400 have been identified as oriented toward gang activity.

The Probation Department operates a day school, which is an intensified study program mandated for juveniles who have committed crimes, at its Youth Guidance Center in Santa Ana. The county Department of Education operates two other similar facilities where juveniles on probation can go.

“But we need a lot more of them,” Schumacher said.

Regarding gang activity, the Probation Department has received a small state grant for more probation officers who can concentrate on gang-related cases. But Schumacher said his office is working with other county agencies, such as the county Board of Education.

‘Still Important’

“One problem is that we have small groups of juveniles that need special attention; it doesn’t reduce the population by much, but it’s still important,” Schumacher said.

For example, Juvenile Hall has an average of five children at any one time who suffer from serious emotional disturbances, and one to three who are considered suicidal. Schumacher said his office is working with county mental health officials to try to find someplace else for these youngsters besides Juvenile Hall.

Supervisor Harriett Wieder cautioned at Tuesday’s board meeting that the Probation Department will have to compete with other county programs for tax dollars to succeed on all of these fronts.

Schumacher said later he is aware of that problem and is hoping for state and federal grants.