Ledger-Dispatch

By Helen Bonner=20

Major Bob Moore is leaving the state = corrections=20 field after more than three years on the juvenile justice reform=20 team.

Photo by: Helen = Bonner
Bob=20 Moore has seen a lot in his quixotic trek through the state's criminal = justice=20 system.

The former chief of security at the Preston Youth = Correctional=20 Facility in Ione - itself the victim of swirling rumors that it is being = eyed=20 for closure - is retiring this year from a state juvenile justice reform = team=20 put together, in part, to advise what to do with institutions like=20 Preston.

"I thought I was being redirected for 60 days," Moore, a = major,=20 said of his current post. "I've been here three and a half=20 years."

Finding his niche

In his office at the = Division of=20 Juvenile Justice building in Sacramento, still sporting its old moniker = of=20 California Youth Authority, Moore looks relaxed. The nearly 28 years of = managing=20 delinquent males in their most confused adolescent and early adult = stages=20 haven't taken their physical toll. He's reflective about the system, = having seen=20 it from various angles and places of influence - a guard, security chief = and,=20 now, a reformer.

Raised in South Sacramento - "not too far from = here,"=20 Moore remarked - he graduated from Christian Brothers High School and = went on to=20 study criminal justice at California State University,=20 Sacramento.

Knowing he had an affinity for rehabilitative work, = Moore=20 applied for and was hired as a correctional officer at the Sierra = Conservation=20 Center in Jamestown, later transferring to the California Medical = Facility in=20 Vacaville. There followed years of training, in the use of force, = specialty=20 impact munitions and other fields historically linked to the field of=20 corrections. Yet Moore always felt there was more to the = profession.

"I=20 never liked the idea that security was only considered by some to be = limited to=20 restraint and control," he explained. "Security is more than just = responding to=20 incidents. Equally important is prevention and intervention."

He = left the=20 adult side of corrections and transitioned to the California Youth = Authority,=20 working up through the ranks of officer, counselor, sergeant, = lieutenant,=20 captain, major and finally head of security at Preston, with its 900 = youthful=20 offenders and 400 staff. Moore's title of major is a term from Preston's = early=20 years when the institution was run somewhat like a military training = academy,=20 with boys in uniform and marching bands. Those days are long gone, but = some of=20 the signs of those days remained, including the historic castle that = looms over=20 the city and, to a degree, the institution itself.

"When I = arrived at=20 Preston from headquarters, I felt that I had one strike against me = because I had=20 never worked there before," Moore remembered. "I listened to experienced = staff=20 and made assessments from what I saw. I set up a training program on how = and=20 when to use force, and how to reduce the need for force. Interactions = with youth=20 from security staff are very valuable. Security staff is with the youth=20 throughout the day and have a cumulative effect."

Dealing with = boys from=20 street gangs, youths raised in violence and poverty - the conditions = were=20 sometimes volatile.

"I recommended adjustments in procedures so = the=20 treatment staff and security were not so separated," Moore said. "One = kid who=20 was very assaultive was in a special management program. Over time I got = to know=20 him, took him out on the court and played basketball with him. I have = always=20 believed in accountability, but there are times when you need to temper = justice=20 with mercy."

A system in transition

Perhaps Moore's = successes at Preston were why he received that fateful phone call in = 2005=20 tapping him to assist with reforming the state's expansive, embattled = juvenile=20 justice system. That was the year the state Department of Corrections = brought=20 youth authority under its umbrella and renamed itself the California = Department=20 of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

"I was reluctant," Moore said = of the=20 call-up. "I didn't want to leave. I had a great security team at = Preston, some=20 of the most talented in the state. My goal has always been to leave an=20 assignment better than I found it, and with a lot of support I felt I = had done=20 that at Preston.

"With my experience at Preston, I would have the = opportunity to assist in shaping the broader system, advocating for more = intervention and broadening the role of security," Moore added. "I was = also=20 impressed with Bernard Warner, (the) chief deputy secretary. Mr. Warner = expected=20 us to be honest about the problems and creative in the solutions. DJJ = has the=20 right leadership."

These reforms are not related to the Little = Hoover=20 Commission, which last July advocated the creation of county-run, = state-funded,=20 regional rehabilitative facilities for high-risk, high-need juvenile = offenders=20 and for the eventual elimination of state juvenile justice operations. = Instead,=20 the efforts are the result of court edicts for improvements in the = system,=20 mandated at $71,000 per ward.

"We used to have two populations - = the=20 general population and those in specialized treatment programs. Now all = youth=20 will be involved in treatment programs at all six facilities, statewide, = each=20 specializing in a specific area. Each plan is under the supervision of a = court=20 appointed expert," Moore said of some of the reforms being discussed. = "We are=20 planning increased services for all youth, reducing the size of living = units and=20 increasing staff. Every kid should have his own individually crafted = treatment=20 program. We are succeeding in making improvements with education, = medical,=20 mental health, disabilities, sex behavior treatment, and safety and = welfare,=20 (living conditions) for our youth."

Asked how realistic these = proposals=20 were, Moore expressed optimism.

"We are showing that it is," he = said. "If=20 we want a safer community, it makes sense to spend money on youth at the = front=20 end. The financial and emotional impact on victims is phenomenal. The = cost of=20 keeping adults in prison is approximately $50,000 per inmate per year. = Any=20 intervention you make at the early years can save millions in prisons = later on,=20 as well as providing greater public safety."

Regarding the = uncertain fate=20 of Preston, the facility he once had his heart in, Moore chose his words = judiciously. "To the best of my knowledge, no decision has been made and = we can=20 only hope for the best," he said.

Moving = on

Relatively=20 soon, these will not be Moore's concerns, at least not = officially.

After=20 devoting his professional life to the correction and rehabilitation of = difficult=20 and sometimes violent youth, Moore and his wife Tina are eager to travel = and=20 enjoy themselves now that their oldest daughter, Adrienne, is married = and on her=20 own. However, he still has a set of twins, Colleen and Bobby, going off = to=20 expensive universities, "so it probably won't be 'til the end of the=20 year."

He said he will continue to work, however, possibly as a = volunteer=20 or maybe even for the Division of Juvenile Justice. Almost three decades = after=20 putting on guard's boots in Jamestown, Moore isn't sure he's had=20 enough.

Raheem Hosseini contributed to this report.

Helen Bonner
Ledger Dispatch Contributor=20