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| Juvenile hall staff in protest |
| By The Mercury News |
| Published: 11/24/2003 |
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A raucous, chanting band of Santa Clara, Calif. County probation peace officers rallied outside juvenile hall last Wednesday in a public display of force. The probation department employees want elected officials, judges and other local leaders to listen to their views before adopting a sweeping slate of reforms planned for the juvenile hall. The union, representing staffers who work with the county's most troubled youths inside the 290-bed detention facility, is angling for more money, equipment and resources it says are needed to address recent flare-ups of violence among inmates. Members also claim that the hall is increasingly populated with more violent youths because of a new county detention policy aimed at keeping low-level offenders out of custody. The most recent snapshot of minors in the hall shows that about 19 percent are locked up for violent crimes. The union's public statement is carefully timed to events that are just around the corner. After months of federal investigations of child abuse in the hall and a biting audit from a county-hired consultant, a new struggle for control of the probation department has emerged. County supervisors hope to take over operations of both the hall and the probation department, which for years has been run by the Superior Court. Adding to the instability, the top two probation administrators have announced their retirement and will soon be replaced. Union members said Wednesday they want a ``bold, hands-on'' leader, who comes from a similar-size facility. The union has taken no position on whether the courts or the supervisors should oversee the hall. ``We're aware that this is a real hot political issue,'' said Russ Correia, a 30-year hall counselor. ``And no matter where this lands, we want a place at the table.'' |
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