Probation Dept. Volunteers Sought

Barbara Jackson, who donates her time to work for the county, has a pretty unusual job as a volunteer with the Probation Department.

Among other things, she visits the homes of people sentenced to house arrest and places and removes the high-tech electronic monitoring equipment that ensures they are not wandering from their residences.

Jackson, a Buena Park resident, also makes unannounced visits on behalf of the county’s work-furlough program, which allows offenders to continue working while serving sentences in a non-traditional jail facility in the community.

“I make sure they are complying with the rules and court orders,” she said.

Jackson, 41, began the work about a year ago and is among the first group of volunteers who completed the Probation Department’s 40-hour training program.

The Probation Department “needs a lot more people than the county can afford,” she said.

To help out with that shortage, Jackson is making the rounds of City Council meetings in the county to raise public awareness about the program and look for more volunteers.

Since the county Probation Department started the program last March, 41 people have been trained to be volunteer probation officers, said Gerry Schiller, program coordinator.

Applications are currently being accepted through early May for the next training session in September, Schiller said.

Volunteers must be at least 20 years old, commit to a minimum of 20 hours a month of work for one year and agree to a background investigation and psychological evaluation.

Schiller said volunteers are supervised by a deputy probation officer, who helps them with their caseloads.

Responsibilities include interviewing offenders and their families; making home, work and jail visits to monitor offenders; and working with youths in drug treatment programs, according to Schiller.

Jackson said she volunteered because she wanted to fight crime and increase public safety.

“I’m making sure that the public’s interest is being served by seeing that these people are not violating the program or are not a danger to the community,” she said. “The more volunteers, the more safety there is for the community.”

Jackson said the volunteer work is rewarding because she is “helping to protect the community and helping offenders turn their lives around.”

Those interested in volunteering can call Schiller at (714) 569-2153 or Randy Niznik at (714) 569-2152 for more information.