Police carry out probation, parole compliance sweep in Whittier area, region-wide

PHOTO GALLERY

Dozens of police officers and other law enforcement officials swept through the Whittier area Friday visiting parolees and probationers and checking to see if they were abiding by the terms of their releases from county jail or state prison.
Officials targeted 21 homes in Whittier, Santa Fe Springs, and adjacent unincorporated county areas.
Friday’s sweep was part of a larger, ongoing operation dubbed “Home for the Holidays” being carried out by a conglomerate of local police, county and state agencies known as the AB 109 Task Force, San Gabriel Valley East Team, task force leader and Pomona police Sgt. Bert Sanchez said.
The mission of the operation was to contact AB 109 probationers, parolees and sex registrants to make sure they were in compliance with the terms of their release,” according to Whittier police Officer Brad White.
Such operations can have increased impact on crime when performed around the holidays, he added.
“Statistics have shown the holiday season typically brings an increase in certain crimes. Many of those crimes are committed by repeat offenders who know that victims will tend to have more money and other property with them during the holiday season,” White said. “Additionally, criminals who are on parole and probation or who have absconded tend to return home for the holidays to be with their families.”
By the end of the operation, authorities will have visited parolees and probationers in all 10 local cities that are contributing officers to the task force, he explained. In addition to Whittier, they include Azusa, Baldwin Park, Claremont, Covina, Glendora, Irwindale, Pomona, La Verne and West Covina.
The task force Thursday checked the homes of the parolees and probationers in Pomona, arresting six, he said. And the campaign continues.
Officials from the Los Angeles County Probation Department and state parole agents are also taking part in the sweep.
All but one of the people visited by authorities in the Whittier area were found to be in compliance with their parole or probation terms, or were not present when officers arrived.
One parolee, 31-year-old Steven Guzman, was arrested on a parole violation after officers showed up at his Whittier home, White said. He was found in possession of pornography, which he is prohibited from possessing under the terms of parole as a convicted sex offender. He was being held without bail, according to county booking records.
Guzman was first convicted of two counts of committing lewd acts on a child in late 20097 and sentenced to three years in prison, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Shiara Davila-Morales said.
After serving his sentence and being paroled, he was again arrested in September for a parole violation and spent a little more than tow months behind bars before being released in November.
Some of those targeted in the sweep Friday, or their family members, were upset or even enraged by the police visit. Others responded to the compliance casually and acted friendly toward the team members.
Officers placed blankets over search subjects and their fellow residents as they were pulled from their homes during the chilly early-morning hours. Children were present at many of the homes.
Police drew their pistols and took tactical positions as they approached each home, rousing the residents with knocks at the doors.
The parolees and probationers were placed into handcuffs as officials questioned them and searched their homes. But with the exception of Guzman, all were released at the conclusions of the unannounced visits.
Trying to keep tabs on the AB 109 probationers is a full-time job for the task force and presents unique challenges, Sanchez said.
One of those challenges is simply finding them, as they do not live at the addresses they provide to probation officials, Sanchez said. For example, several probationers were found to have provided the address of a local county social services agency as their home address.
And because probation officials do not have the resources to verify all the addresses provided by probationers released under AB 109 guidelines, the false information may go undetected until a task force pays a visit.
Additionally, Sanchez said, convicts become eligible for probation supervision under AB 109 based on their most recent conviction. Previous convictions are not considered when deciding whether a prisoner is eligible for supervision under AB 109, rather than the stricter oversight of traditional parole.
As a result, Sanchez said his team members have encountered several probationers with AB 109 status with a murder conviction in their past.
But the situation is slowly improving as agencies learn to better work within the new framework, and build cooperative relationships with one another, Sanchez said.
“They’re going in the right direction, that’s for sure,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email