From Sierra Wave.

Chief Probation Officer Jeffrey Thomson announced today that Probation Services Week will be celebrated July 20–26, 2025, honoring the frontline officers and staff who help build safer communities.

Throughout the week, Inyo County Probation Department will highlight the work of local officers and staff who help reduce crime and recidivism by providing justice-involved individuals with court-ordered accountability, supervision, and access to services that support long-term rehabilitation. These trained professionals serve on the front lines of California’s justice system, promoting public safety through a unique model that blends enforcement with evidence-based rehabilitation.

Heroes Behind the Mission: Changing Lives, Enhancing Public Safety

“Probation is the cornerstone of the criminal justice system providing opportunity and accountability to those we supervise in the community. Our Officers work tirelessly to support their clients and protect our communities by utilizing all available community resources to help probationers change their thinking and behaviors so that they can lead productive lives.” - Jeffrey Thomson, Chief Probation Officer

Probation professionals serve as key connectors within the justice system and their communities—bridging courts, schools, behavioral health providers, law enforcement, and service agencies to ensure individuals have the supervision and tools they need to succeed. With over 350 hours of required training in their first two years alone, plus ongoing annual instruction, probation officers are highly trained professionals who balance the need for probationers to have accountability while supporting their rehabilitation and long-term success out of the justice system.

In Inyo County and across California, probation delivers a cost-effective, community-based alternative to incarceration that protects public safety while improving lives. By addressing the root causes of criminal behavior and helping people transition successfully out of the justice system, probation departments are critical to building safer and better communities for all.

“The Inyo County Probation Department is a team of dedicated Probation Officers, Rehabilitation Specialists, and administrative staff whose mission is to create a safer community for all, and I could not be any prouder of the hard work that they do every day.”- Jeffrey Thomson, Chief Probation Officer

As an alternative to incarceration, probation professionals help keep communities safe through individualized supervision and by connecting people to critical services such as substance use treatment, workforce development, housing support, and mental health care.

Probation Services Week is a time to honor the dedication of probation professionals who work every day to make our communities safer and stronger.

For more information about Probation Services Week or the Inyo County Probation Department, please contact Chief Jeffrey Thomson, or follow us on Facebook; Inyo County Probation Department.

Read the full article here.