Huntington Park : Probation Dept. Crews Will Be Used for Cleanup Work

The City Council has approved using two county rehabilitative programs to save money when cleaning up parts of Huntington Park. The supervised cleanup crews will pull weeds and pick up litter in alleys and streets when needed, said Bill Rieffanaugh, director of parks and recreation.

The programs, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Probation Department, allow certain teen-agers and adults to work cleaning up graffiti and trash instead of spending their sentence time in jail, said Larry Schryver, director of the county programs. Each crew member is screened by the county for prior arrests and histories of violent behavior, chronic substance abuse, sexual deviations or gang involvement before being allowed to participate, Schryver said.

The juvenile program was started in 1983, and it allows 13- to 17-year-old boys and girls to work on cleanup crews on weekends, Schryver said. The 1,585 juveniles currently participating in the program countywide attend school during the week.

The adult program was started as a pilot project in Long Beach about two years ago, and it has been expanded to include contracts with public agencies and the cities of Burbank, Duarte, Inglewood and Norwalk. Seven crews of 7 to 14 members work five days a week.

The city, which will pay $400 per day for a crew, will begin using the crews early next year to clean up areas along Alameda Street and the nearby railroad tracks, said Neil Poole, director of field services.