Mono County news release
Pretrial Probation Parole Supervision Week
July 21-27, 2019 is Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week – a time for the nation and Mono County to recognize the men and women who work each and every day to supervise offenders in our communities, but also who provide support mechanisms to assist the people they supervise to get housing, jobs, substance abuse treatment and other assistance.
Jim Himelhoch
This week we are honoring Deputy Probation Officer III Jon Himelhoch as Mono County Probation Employee of the Year for 2019 in conjunction with Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week. Officer Himelhoch has served as the Drug Court Officer since the inception of Drug Court almost five years ago. He is also the High-Risk Supervision Officer working closely with the Superior Court Judges, law enforcement, treatment staff, and many county agencies who assist community members.
Community corrections is a world-wide experience that is supported by services working to keep citizens safe. By collaborating with community leaders and sometimes volunteering their own time, many officers are making a difference while faced with increasing caseloads and additional responsibilities that include evidence-based practices.
These professionals are often silent partners, yet they spend more time with offenders than many other agencies. Join Mono County and the nation in honoring these public servants during the week of July 21-27 for Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week.
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Inyo County press release
From Jeff Thomson, Chief Probation Officer
Ten Reasons Why We Should Observe
Probation Services Week
A Force for Positive Change!
July 21-27, 2019
Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week is a time to recognize and celebrate the dedicated and caring individuals in Inyo County who work tirelessly to make our neighborhoods safer and more vibrant places to live. These professionals are in our communities each and every day to assist juvenile and adult offenders in becoming better citizens and live productive lives. Working together makes for stronger bonds between colleagues, community partners, and with those under supervision. Here are 10 ways Inyo County Probation is valuable to our communities:
10. Probation professionals are committed to promoting services and programs that meet the needs and interests of crime victims and the community.
9. Probation professionals promote an integrated, comprehensive approach to dealing with the pervasive problem of substance abuse.
8. Probation professionals provide services and programs that provide opportunities for offenders to become law-abiding citizens.
7. Probation professionals offer choices and enforce consequences.
6. Probation professionals are caring people.
5. Probation professionals promote community protection through proactive, problem-solving work practices plus interventions aimed at changing criminal and/or delinquent behavior.
4. Probation professionals are dedicated, hard-working individuals who are truly concerned about making a difference in our communities.
3. Probation professionals provide core services such as investigations, victim advocacy, community supervision, immediate response to violations and treatment services; all which provide optimum public protection.
2. Probation professionals work 24/7 to help make Inyo County safe.
1. Probation professionals supervise over 600 adults and juveniles in our communities. Imagine what it would be like without them!
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Chief Probation Officer Jeff Thomson did a great job enumerating why the probation department is important to the communities it serves. It is often unrecognized because it does it job; not seeking recognition but rather results and good outcomes.
The simple fact is, we have found that we cannot afford to throw everyone into jail or prison; not for financial reasons and more importantly, not for social reasons. Those are especially true in our small communities. Someone on probation usually has close family ties to the community. He or she might also be a child and effective intervention and help from our probation department, working with the medical community and local social agencies, can often help put a young ‘offender” on the right path without incarceration.
Also, people do make mistakes and errors in judgment–all the time.And yes, some are more prone to making mistakes than others. Those suffering from some form of addiction need help to overcome or learn to live with the addiction in less harmful ways. Poverty is also a major driving force behind much crime as are mental health issues. This is not an affluent county with unlimited resources. It is still far to easy to “self-medicate” using easily obtained illicit drugs, including alcohol, rather than seek medical help.
Even medical help has proven “iffy” in the opioid crisis currently ravaging the country as many became addicted to opiates thanks to irresponsible doctors that over-prescribed the drugs (at the encouragement of the pharmaceutical companies) without follow-up tracking and education of patients of the dangers of addiction to the very drugs being prescribed as part of the medical treatment to control to control pain.
We should be proud of our Inyo County Probation Department and its CPO, Jeff Thomson, who has embraced progressive training, hired good people, and implemented policies and procedures that seek to meet the needs of both those on probation and our communities. If you ever have the opportunity to speak with our probation officers and employees, it is clear that they care about those they are charged with supervising while on probation. It matters that they care.
Yes, it would be simpler just to incarcerate everyone convicted of a crime…and we tried that, and it didn’t work. Probation won’t be our salvation, but it is a key player in safeguarding our communities.
Is the mustache mandatory?