Soon, 96 Probation officers and staff from the Los Angeles County Probation Department will be receiving the Department’s Medal of Merit for their bravery in assisting with the evacuation of youth from the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall (BJNJH) and Camp Joseph Scott during last year’s fire season.

The L.A. County Probation Department Medal of Valor is for staff who, on or off duty, distinguished themselves by conspicuous bravery or heroism above and beyond the normal demands of service displaying great courage in the face of immediate life-threatening peril and with full knowledge of the risk involved, according to the official statement from the Probation Department.

“The courage demonstrated by DPO II Corbett and the staff at BJNJH and Camp Scott during the Saddleridge and Tick fires show how selfless and dedicated our employees are,” said Los Angeles County Interim Chief Probation Officer Ray Leyva. “These brave and hard-working individuals are just a small representation of the amazing people that make up the L.A. County Probation Department, trying every day to make a difference in our client’s lives.”​

When the Tick Fire broke out in Santa Clarita last October, it threatened Camp Joseph Scott, Probation’s only girls camp. The 25 youth and 20 staff located there were safely transported to Challenger Memorial Youth Center (CYMC) in Lancaster. 

L.A. County Probation had to cancel its in-person ceremony honoring these medal recipients as well as other staff from across the Department that were nominated by their peers for demonstrating leadership, diligence, mentoring, engagement, reliability, ethics and earned respect from their co-workers, clients and the community due to COVID-19 restrictions, however plans for virtual recognition events are in the works.

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