New officer joins Douglas County juvenile probation

After 20 years working with juvenile offenders in detention, probation officer Mike Torres said he sees his new job as a chance to work with young people at the beginning of the process.

Torres, 43, was sworn in this week as the county's newest juvenile probation officer.

"One of the things I want to focus on is prevention," Torres said. "I really wanted to get the experience at the other end - the preventative measures - and after care when the kids come out of detention."

In 1984, he began work at Rite of Passage. He was hired at China Spring Youth Camp in 1993 and spent the last three years supervising female juvenile offenders at Aurora Pines.

"I wasn't really planning to have a career in it," he said. "But I am comfortable talking with kids. It didn't really feel like work."

Torres is bilingual and said he feels that will be an asset in working with the Hispanic community.

He recently completed the 10-week Police Officer Standards and Training academy.

"It was a good opportunity. There was a lot of information, good classes and good courses," he said.

Torres and his wife Neyzer, a native of Colombia, South America, are the parents of three daughters, ages 11, 8, and 6. They live in Gardnerville.

Torres said that was another motivation in joining the Juvenile Probation Office.

"It's good to be in the same community with them as they are growing up," he said.