100 Years Later County Honors Probation Officer Who Set High Bar on Standards
Westchester County’s first probation officer, William E. Mounteney was honored last week, 100 years after his appointment. During his tenure, he was known for helping to establish best practices in probation and lived a rather remarkable and profound life. Sadly, he died in a nursing home with no family and no financial resources.
Mounteney was buried in a Kensico Cemetery grave that remained unmarked until a morning ceremony last week, when County Executive Robert Astorino and Commissioner of Probation, Rocco Pozzi unveiled a monument that was placed on Mounteney’s gravesite.
The service was part of a centennial celebration by the probation department.
With funds raised from the Westchester County Probation Officers Association, the monument reads: “William E. Mounteney, 1874-1963, First Probation Officer, Westchester County, N.Y., Appointed 1915.” In a second, more formal afternoon ceremony, a full program of speakers was held at the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains to honor Mounteney and to celebrate the Probation Centennial.
“Today is an important day as we not only honor William Mounteney but also the men and women who serve as probation officers,” said Astorino. “Mr. Mounteney may not have had any blood relatives outlive him, but he has 200 members of a probation family today that know of him and appreciate all he did to establish best practices in the important work of probation. It’s nice to think that Mr. Mounteney, a former pastor, is looking down on us today with gratitude that he’s being remembered 52 years following his passing and 100 years following his appointment.”
“Following in the footsteps of Mr. Mounteney, the Probation Officers of today serve with integrity, commitment and passion as they strive to protect the citizens of Westchester County and provide services to the courts,” said Commissioner Pozzi.
Prior to becoming a probation officer, Mounteney had a 20-year career in ministry that took him to churches in Upstate New York, New York City, New Jersey and Westchester. He was also an award winning chicken farmer and volunteered during World War I at age 43 to serve in the American Expeditionary Services as an overseas secretary in Europe.
Born in England, Mounteney immigrated to the United States as a young man. Throughout his life he was civic-minded. “I believe that… one of the great duties of the present-day citizen is to lift the ideal… lay aside bigotry and prejudice… practice the art of optimism,” he once said. “This is the best country in all the world. It is going to be a better country – better than our fathers hoped, better than we ourselves have dreamed.”
As a probation officer, Mounteney carried these ideals. He showed compassion for offenders, regardless of race and worked hard to secure employment for cases in his care, but he was not reluctant to hold probationers accountable for their actions. He also sought to recruit women into the probationary field.
One hundred years later, the Westchester County Probation Department today has a staff of 200 (including 150 probation officers). Its operations are housed on three floors of the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains and four district offices located in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Peekskill and Yonkers.
