Municipal Court Compliance Officer Cameron Himes was named the Probation Officer of the Year by the Washington Misdemeanant Probation Association at its annual conference held on April 30 in Ocean Shores.
Himes has been a probation officer with Lakewood Municipal Court since 2015. As part of a reorganization he took on this additional responsibility while maintaining his duties as a Court Compliance Officer.
One of the first things Himes did as a probation officer was to audit all the open probation files to identify cases ready for closure, cases ready to be moved to bench probation and scheduled monthly meetings with all probationers.
As a probation officer Himes regularly goes above and beyond. Instead of telling people what they need to do he works with them to accomplish their assigned tasks. If they don’t have transportation, Himes works to obtain bus passes or recently he worked with the Lakewood Police Department to have bikes available for people to check out to get to their appointments.
“Cameron is a straight shooter which is appreciated by his clients,” said Municipal Court Judge Susan Adams. “He demonstrates the utmost integrity, honesty and dedication to his position I’ve ever seen in my 20-plus years working in the court.”
Another major accomplishment is Himes’ commitment to the success of the recently created Veteran’s Treatment Court. A veteran himself, Himes played an instrumental role in the implementation of this therapeutic court, including applying for a grant to help fund it and now that it’s operational working with each participant to see them succeed.
“Cameron has made a significant impact on the lives of the probationers he works with, which in turn greatly benefits our community,” Adams said. “We are extremely proud of his work and are pleased he received the Probation Officer of the Year award. It is well deserved.”