Offenders Tapped to Serve : Corrections: Convicted people referred by county judges to a volunteer center are then assigned to nonprofit groups to work off their debts to society.

When the Orange Police Department needed someone to install its computer software and train its personnel on its use, help came from an unusual source: a computer expert, convicted of a traffic offense, performing 80 hours of court-ordered community service.

Another traffic offender, active in the Toastmasters organization, taught public speaking and community outreach to staff members at a nonprofit agency. The free outreach instruction, an official said, was an asset the nonprofit recipients could not hope to afford.

“It was a perfect match,” said Linda G. Kjellberg, associate director of the Volunteer Center of Greater Orange County, which places convicted offenders at the nonprofit organizations. “Some nonprofit organizations would be dead in the water if they didn’t get court-referred volunteers.”

In 1992, nearly 14,000 people such as the computer expert and the Toastmaster worked off misdemeanor sentences in placements arranged through the Volunteer Center, headquartered in the refurbished Santa Ana train station, one of two agencies in Orange County that perform the service.

Most of the work assignments are non-skilled or semi-skilled, but occasionally, innovative matches are made: A professional mime performed at elementary school assemblies; an entrepreneur taught staff members at a nonprofit organization how to write grant proposals, and then wrote a successful one for them.

“We got a very nice thank-you note from them,” said Gloria Cruz, director of the center’s court referral program.

But some placements require particular care, such as the convicted counterfeiter, referred by a federal court, who was kept away from print shops and copying machines. Some agencies are wary of accepting people convicted of petty theft.

Individuals convicted of violent offenses, such as assault and battery, or sexual offenses, such as indecent exposure or prostitution, are never assigned to groups serving children, center officials said.

“We have gotten some difficult clients,” said Charlotte S. Calvin, the center’s director of government relations, who formerly headed the court referral program. “Some people prefer jail to physical labor.” Orange County judges referred 17,249 cases to the Santa Ana office last year. Of those, 13,951 people showed up for processing, and 85% of them completed their hours. The remainder was evenly split between those who completed some hours and those who never reported for work.

Center officials said that people referred by courts served 777,497 hours of service last year. At an estimated value of $5 an hour, this represents a contribution of nearly $4 million to the community, center officials said.

Of those choosing community service, 90% are working off fines and 4% are avoiding jail sentences (the remainder are avoiding additional fines or penalties). More than half, 54%, have been convicted of traffic offenses; 16% for DUI (driving under the influence); 8% for property crimes and only 1% for violence against people.

The court referral program’s greatest impact is in easing jail overcrowding, said James M. Brooks, presiding judge of Central Municipal court in Santa Ana, and “most of the judges are fairly happy with it.”

Generally, those in the program “are nice, honest people who just messed up,” Brooks said, and don’t have enough money to pay their fine.

“You can’t put people in jail for being poor,” Brooks said. This way, “we let them pay their debt to society out in society . . . by doing nice, helpful work in the community.”

Only about 10% of the people assigned to community service pick up trash for Caltrans, though that is probably their most visible assignment. Highway pickup once made up half of all service.

But these days, they also clean up graffiti, work at homeless shelters and food banks, and stuff envelopes, compile statistics and work phone banks for a variety of nonprofit agencies.

The typical person is sentenced to 40 hours for a traffic offense, including parking and speeding violations or other moving violations, center officials said, although some serve as few as eight hours.

“We rely on them,” said L. Christine Krystyan, assistant administrator of the federally funded Leisure Court Alzheimer’s Center in Anaheim. “They’re a real blessing to us,” she said, noting that 80% of the center’s unpaid workers are court-referred.

They are people like Brian L. Baker, a 20-year-old Orange resident who is working off 376 hours for illegal weapons possession, a misdemeanor conviction that could have cost him 30 days in jail or an $800 fine.

After his interview at the center, the former security guard and pizza shop manager was given several choices. Some were located too far from his home and others didn’t suit him, he said.

When he was offered a warehouse job with the Food Distribution Center run by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Baker said, “I came down and checked it out, and it was good.”

After working sporadically at the warehouse two months ago, Baker now puts in regular, eight-hour days, sorting slightly damaged items donated by Proctor & Gamble, including diapers, coffee, peanut butter and cleaning supplies.

“They keep me busy,” Baker said with a smile. “Better this than jail.”

The only compensation Baker receives is that given to all volunteers: a free visit to the warehouse’s simple snack bar, stocked with homemade peanut butter sandwiches, and the possibility of a strong job recommendation. Those who do exceptionally well, according to their supervisors, receive a certificate from the center in recognition of “exemplary Volunteer Services rendered to the community.”

Sometimes, court-referred assignments have an even happier ending.

In the past two months alone, center officials said, assignments led to permanent job offers to half a dozen people who were working off community service hours, including a man at the Anaheim Alzheimer’s center who was hired as a janitor.

Ricardo L. Vasquez, a 24-year-old Orange resident, came to the St. Vincent de Paul food bank three months ago to work off 68 hours of community service for a traffic ticket, in lieu of a $1,000 fine. A construction worker who had been idled by rain, Vasquez was put to work sorting the same Proctor & Gamble products.

“Just from Ricardo’s first week of work, we were impressed with his abilities,” said Corey Timpson, assistant manager of the warehouse. “So we offered him a job.”

Vasquez, who is paid more than minimum wage, now supervises four sorting stations, Timpson said.

“I love this job,” Vasquez said. “It’s very good for me. I say: ‘Thanks for the (traffic) ticket.’ ”

Community Service

During 1992, minor offenders performed a variety of services, but the bulk was physical labor such as painting, graffiti removal, recycling and the like. Most did so as an alternative to paying a fine. Type of Assignment: Maintenance: 43% Alano Clubs (alcoholism fellowship): 15% Clerical: 12% Aide-recreation/education: 12% Thrift shops: 11% Other: 7%

Offense: Traffic offenses: 54% Drunk driving: 16% Drug/Alcohol (non-driving): 2% Assault: 1% Petty theft: 8% Other: 19%

Sentence Status: Alternative to fine: 90% Alternative to jail: 4% Add-on option: 6%

Offender Profile

Most of those who opted for community service were men, Latino and at least 23 years old. Sex: Male: 62% Female: 38%

Age: 17 and younger: 4% 18-22: 27% 23 and older: 69%

Ethnicity: Latino: 60% White: 33% Black: 3% Asian: 2% Other: 2%

Cases referred to program: 17,249 Total hours worked: 779,497 Value of work (at $5 per hour): $3,948,335