Probation Officers

Probation officers are social workers who carry out work in the fields of crime prevention, treatment of offenders, care and treatment of victims of crime, and working with families and communities. Typical duties of probation officers include helping people with problems in their lives, but probation officer jobs are a part of the criminal justice system and this help is offered specifically to prevent people from re-offending.

Duties Of A Probation Officer

Probation officers are responsible for electronic monitoring of their clients and operating community correction programs such as work furloughs, and the department of the chief probation officer is what this information is usually reported to. Typically they are also responsible for contacting crime victims to inform them of their rights and the Court process.

In most cases probation officers provide a pre-sentence report that includes background information on a defendant and information on his/her offense. Probation officers are responsible for keeping track of offenders and assuring that they're meeting the requirements of their probation agreement.

In the typical probation officer job description, including a juvenile probation officer job description, is their commitment to: treating all people fairly, openly and with respect a commitment to valuing diversity and acting in an anti-discriminatory way an uncompromising stance against the harm caused by crime a strong belief in the capacity of people to change the importance of taking personal responsibility for behavior the necessity of learning from experience.

Becoming A Probation Officer

Probation officers are peace officers in approximately 40 states, and are permitted to carry a firearm in 31 states. Probation officers are usually issued a badge/credentials and, in many cases, may carry concealed weapons and pepper spray for self protection or serving arrest warrants, although this usually isn't the case for a juvenile probation officer.

They are also required to pass the basic law enforcement training before being allowed to carry a firearm for their probation officer careers, and are usually required to pass a psychological test for any probation officer job opening. Probation officer salaries vary greatly from state to state and depending on your experience, education, and record.

In some States, the jobs of parole and probation officers are combined. Most probation officers are generalists, but some officers have specialist positions or do work that requires special skills or expertise. Most probation officers are employed by state or local governments, although some federal positions exist.

Federal probation officers are like their state/local and youth probation officer counterparts in many ways, but they're also different. Federal probation officers are authorized by law to carry firearms, since it is very common to find an assaulted federal probation officer.