Friday, July 30, 1999 | 11:12 a.m.
While adult probation officers routinely carry guns on the job, juvenile probation officers aren't armed.
That may change if a committee formed by Juvenile Judge Robert Gaston at Clark County Family and Youth Services determines it is a good idea to arm juvenile officers.
But there is a dispute between Gaston's apparent interest in arming officers and Kirby Burgess, director of Clark County Family and Youth Services, who cautions that the risks associated with arming juvenile officers may outweigh the need.
And historically there have been few incidents in past decades that would point to a need for arming officers whose job, to a great extent, is social work.
Yet like police and adult probation officers, who also carry guns, juvenile probation officers deal with criminals who sometimes carry guns and sometimes commit violent acts.
Gaston cited an incident five or six years ago when a juvenile offender, who had been taken to a hospital for treatment of an injury, grabbed a scalpel and carjacked a vehicle during an escape attempt.
Assistant Director Fritz Reese remembers no incident before or since that involved violence.
Burgess said some workers on the probation staff believe the potential for a situation resulting in injury to an officer is real and believe that carrying weapons is an appropriate safeguard.
But Burgess, who was a juvenile probation officer and child protective services worker before joining the county government staff and then becoming director in 1994, said he hasn't seen the need for arming officers and that the liability risks outweigh the benefits.
"I'll be honest, I'm not an advocate," he said. "Philosophically it's not my bent, but in fairness, it's something we want to explore.
"I guess I'm from the old school," Burgess continued. "We're working with people -- youngsters and families. Yet I also understand the world has changed.
"These jobs rely on the ability to communicate, and we teach our staff how to de-escalate potentially dangerous situations," he said. "I realize violence can occur in any situation, but I believe the risk is low."
He noted that if an officer feels a situation may be dangerous, a better solution than carrying a gun might be to call a police officer to provide backup.
Another solution utilized in the past has been to take along a second probation officer, he said.
Although Burgess said the matter of juvenile officers carrying weapons has been "a long-standing issue for the judge," Gaston said his concern is only for the safety of the officers.
Reese said Gaston first raised the weapons issue about five years ago when he served a temporary stint as juvenile judge.
Gaston, who orchestrated the Officer Safety Committee meeting last week, said other options being considered include portable radios and backup help from police.
He said the committee will be looking at the possibility of establishing a small armed unit at the agency to handle high-risk situations, rather than authorizing guns for all probation officers.
"I'm not advocating one way or the other," the judge said. "This is just in the studying stage."
To authorize officers carrying guns, the county would have to change its blanket policy prohibiting employees from possessing weapons on the job or in county vehicles, even if they had concealed weapons permits from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Presiding Family Court Judge Gloria Sanchez noted there is a policy at Family Court that no weapons are allowed in the building and the judges would have to address that issue if juvenile probation officers were authorized to carry arms.
Ironically, no one on the committee is from Child Protective Services, which deals with neglected and abused children and their families.
Burgess said that Child Protective Services workers often go into people's homes and remove the children, sometimes taking them from their parents' arms.
"That's much more dangerous than dealing with delinquents yet they do it quite successfully," he said. "The time has not come for guns."
If that time does come, however, the juvenile officers already are prepared.
They are trained and classified as Category 2 peace officers and part of that training, under the Police Officer Standards and Training laws, involve firearms qualifications.
Officers working for police departments are Category 1 peace officers.
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