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County, courts appoint a new chief probation officer |
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Wednesday, 15 October 2008 |
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By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
10-14-2008 A Bishop High graduate has risen through the ranks to become the department head for adult and juvenile probation throughout Inyo County.
After a statewide hunt for a qualified candidate, Jeffrey Thomson was chosen on Sept. 29 to take over for the retiring James Moffett.
Presiding Judge Dean Stout has issued an order appointing Thomson as chief probation officer effective Nov. 4, subject to the Inyo County Board of Supervisors’ approval of the contract.
“I feel up to the challenge and look forward to continue working with a really great staff that cares about the community,” Thomson said Wednesday. Thomson will be the county department head for 43 employees serving more than 800 adult and 80-90 juvenile probationers.
“I’m very lucky to be following in his (Moffett’s) footsteps,” Thomson said of his predecessor, adding that Moffett is one of the longest-standing chief probation officers in the state with 24 years experience.  New Inyo County Chief Probation Officer Jeffrey Thomson will be sworn in Nov. 4 at 12:15 p.m. in the courthouse in Independence. Photo submitted
Moffett was equally impressed by Thomson’s resume, stating, “Jeff has done a very good job in overseeing the juvenile division and juvenile detention center. In the past few months he has led the department’s administration gaining valuable experience in personnel and budget. I know that Thomson will be an outstanding chief probation officer.”
Thomson is a local guy, graduating from Bishop Union High School in 1986 and going on to graduate from San Diego State University in 1994 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
He has been working for the Inyo County Probation Department since 1999, starting as a juvenile counselor and working his way through the ranks.
He has served as both director of the Inyo County Juvenile Detention Center since July 2004, and as Chief Deputy Probation Officer since February 2005.
“I’m planning on staying a while,” Thomson said of his new position, and added he hoped that his experience in almost every facet of Inyo’s Probation Department will give him a firm grounding for heading the department.
Representatives from other parts of Inyo’s law system have also praised Thomson.
“Thomson was the most outstanding candidate … His leadership, vision and integrity will serve Inyo County well,” said Howard Lehwald, chair of the Inyo County Juvenile Justice Commission. “We are very fortunate to have Thomson’s knowledge and experience in all areas of probation matters.”
Thomson said he has set some goals for himself and his new position, the first being, “bringing the department up to technological speed.” He said that, of course, the department utilizes computers, but there is still quite a bit of paper filing. This not only delays business, Thomson explained, but easy-to-access, correlated computer data is a better aide in acquiring grant money.
Another one of Thomson’s goals is to go with the California trend to offer more services to adults in the 18- to 25-year-old range. These services would include life-skills training from how to apply for a job or write a resume to money management.
“The first priority of the Chief Probation officer is to protect the community,” Thomson explained Wednesday.
The Probation Department is an interesting entity in that it is both part of the courts and the county. Thomson explained that there is a Memorandum of Understanding that dictates that the Probation Department answers to the county and its supervisors for budgetary business, but answers to the courts for program and services matters.
“The department is an arm of the courts,” Thomson said, “our main job is to offer recommendations to the court.” The court can ask Probation for recommendations for sentencing and the department will investigate the individual case to determine, for example, if a juvenile should receive probation and with what restrictions, or go to detention in a facility.
Each case is individual, so Probation has to study each case to determine appropriate recommendation.
He explained that a probation officer’s job is to supervise probationers, those on probation.
Probation is given to a law offender in lieu of, or in addition to, jail time. Those on probation have limited freedoms and must abide by special conditions deemed appropriate by the court.
Inyo courts will be holding separate, special sessions in honor of both Moffett and Thomson.
On Friday, Oct. 17 at 4 p.m., a special send-off for the retiring Moffett will take place at the courtroom in Bishop. The public is invited and anyone wishing to speak or make a presentation is asked to contact Court Executive Officer, Nancy Moxley at 872-2599.
The public is also cordially invited to the swearing-in of Thomson on Nov. 4 at 12:15 p.m., in the historic courtroom on the top floor of the courthouse in Independence.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 November 2008 )
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