I chose to report on the Los Angeles Probation County Department. The Probation department is apart of the corrections branch of Criminal Justice. I sat down and interviewed peace officer Stacey Armstrong. The first important question that I asked was “what is your agencies primary mission?” Officer Armstrong replied, “Our primary mission here in Probation is to promote and improve public safety, guarantee victims' rights, and assist the positive behavior change of adult and juvenile probationers.” The probation departments’ most important issue to date is size. There are thousands of correctional workers in L.A. County. There are still not enough officers to keep up with the hundreds of thousands of criminals. The Probation department has many operational programs. The department is always seeking good educated employees to help expand the department. The next major question was; what is Probation and why is it important in criminal Justice? Officer Armstrong reported probation is a form of criminal action enforced by a court on a criminal, instead of jail, which allows the offender to serve the sentence while not actually being locked away. It is not feasible to imprison all criminals. Probation is cost effective and budget management. The Probation Department assists the different courts not only by helping to identify suitable candidates for probation, but also by recommending appropriate sentences to be placed on them, including time in jail, fines, and community service. The department also helps identify those persons who are not suitable for probation by providing information to the court to justify their removal from the community. Once probation probationis ordered, the Probation Officer designs an appropriate supervision plan for each offender, which guides the offender toward accepting the responsibilities of being a law-abiding citizen. In Los Angeles County, the Probation Department is assig...
