CLOSE UP : An Officer and a Guardian

After 23 years as an L. A. County juvenile probation officer specializing in high-profile gang crime cases, Mary Ridgway has seen things change--for the worse. “About 15 years ago, the majority of gang crimes were car thefts and burglaries,” she says. “Now my kids are involved in violent offenses, assault with a deadly weapon and homicides. It reflects the disintegration of the family unit, education and civic responsibility. Most of the people I work with saw this coming years ago. Society gets what it pays for.”

Teens throughout East L. A. will tell you the county is getting more than its money’s worth when it comes to Ridgway. “Someday I’d like to be a probation officer,” says 17-year-old Erica Parra, “but only if I could be as good as Ridgway. She’s really great. She works for us, the kids. She’s not always nice, but she has feelings for us. I can tell.

“A lot of my friends are in gangs,” Parra adds, “and Ridgway is there for them when they’re in trouble.”

Over the years Ridgway, 50, has guided more than 5,000 kids through the rigors of probation. “Sometimes it’s more like one step forward and three back,” she says. “Several of my former cases are now making a lot more money than I am. A couple of my gifted athletes went on to play professional football. Others just get on with a real life--have families, finish school, become plumbers, contractors and manage shoe stores. I take a lot of pride in all those kids. Some are waiting on Death Row and those are the ones that tear me up. I know I can’t reach everybody.”

Ridgway considers herself a product of the ‘60s just doing her job. “I was raised with this sense of responsibility to give back to society,” she says.

Helping gang members stay clean might be a little more civic responsibility than most people could handle, but Ridgway enjoys the challenge. “This is the first time a lot of these kids have ever had to follow anyone’s rules. Forty percent of my kids are throwaways at birth. Nobody really wants them, and we have to get over all that,” she says. “Some days I take a kid out for ice cream or a couple of us go to see a movie. Sometimes I’m there with police officers to enforce hours and associations.

“It makes me feel good to hear I’m liked and respected,” she says, “because I like and respect these kids too.”