Chapter 6The Career Pathway of a Community Supervision

Officer

Introduction The tasks most prescribed to probation officers

in the federal system are: Supervision - 62 Presentence Investigation - 21 Pre Trial Supervision- 12 Pre Trial Activations- 05

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Klockars’ Typology Carl Klockars (1972) developed a classic typology of

probation officers that defined 4 basic types of supervision officers: the law enforcer, the time-server, the therapeutic agent, and the synthetic officer.

Most officers are characterized as either law enforcers or therapeutic agents, but the 2 styles can work together to become more like the synthetic officer. (Steiner 2004). LO:

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Appointment System Jurisdictions that appoint probation

officers have a judge or selection committee that appoints a chief probation officer.

The Chief selects assistants subject to the approval of the advisory body.

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Merit System Merit or civil service systems were developed to

remove public employees from political patronage. Applicants who meet minimum employment

standards are required to pass a competitive exam. People who score above a specified minimum grade

are placed on a ranked list. Candidates are selected from the list according to their order of rank.

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Education and Experience Most adult probation and parole officers must

have a minimum of a baccalaureate degree. Traditionally, probation officers were recruited

out of the social work and psychology fields. A preference has emerged to recruit individuals

with degrees in criminal justice, criminology, and sociology.

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Adult Basic Training Combined probation and parole offices require an

average of 208 hours of preservice training Separate offices require less hours of training Training topics include numerous topic categories and

courses (see Table 6.1). Those states where officers carry firearms require

completion of Peace Officer State Training (POST).

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Juvenile Preservice Training The American Correctional Association recommends that

juvenile probation officers receive 40 hours of preservice training.

The American Bar Association suggests 80 hours of preservice training with an additional 48 hours within the first six months.

Reddington and Kreisel found that 20 states certified juvenile probation officer positions with an average of 100 hours of preservice training.

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In-Service Training In-service training is continuing education training

that occurs annually for seasoned officers following the first year of employment.

The American Correctional Association recommends that seasoned officers receive 40 hours of annual training.

40 hours is the most common requirement for adult officers and 30 for juvenile officers.

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Officer Salary Based on the positions advertised nationwide in

2009 (www.payscale.com), an entry level probation officer or correctional treatment specialist with less than one year of experience can expect a median salary of $32,859.

5 to 9 years = median of $37,843 10 to19 years = median is $43,456 20 years or more = median is $56,000

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Administrator Salary Probation and parole administrators earned

considerably more than field officers. The average salary for parole administrators was

$161,435. Probation administrators received $101,109. For combined departments, probation and parole

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Firearms Policies In October 2006, 35 adult probation

jurisdictions and 40 adult parole jurisdictions carried firearms (APPA).

In the juvenile system, 13 states allow firearms for officers, 2 give officers the option and 7 narrow firearms to only certain counties.

In the federal system, 85 of 94 judicial districts allow officers to carry weapons. LO:

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Firearms, Con’t. Those opposed to officers carrying a firearm

question whether the threat to probation officers is real or perceived.

May not be needed for misdemeanants and juveniles Officer’s safety or life may be at greater risk if a

probationer or parolee is carrying a weapon Early study found that probation officers who carried

a firearm experienced more confrontation incidents LO:

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Firearms, Con’t. Officer confrontations have greatly decreased as

officers pay more attention to safety issues by conducting home visits in pairs, wearing body armor, and training in self-defense techniques.

Not all officers want to carry a firearm. Options include chemical agents, stun guns, pressure points training, and field visits with two officers.

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Firearms, Con’t. Advocates of officers carrying firearms contend

that as officers are expected to make more late night home visits and be present out in the field, their time away from the office diminishes, as does their safety.

Probation officers in specialized units who supervise gang members and violent offenders have been the most assertive.

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Probation Officer Job Stress Sources of stress:

Excessive paperwork Inadequate salary Lack of promotional opportunity Lack of time to accomplish the job Role ambiguity Role conflict Lack of participation in decision-making Court leniency Failure to recognize accomplishments

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Probation Officer Job Stress, Con’t.

Decreasing stress: Types of Immunity Negligence is the failure to do that which a reasonably

prudent person would have done in a similar circumstance

Probation and parole officers are government employees and have different types of protection depending on the function they perform

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Probation Officer Job Stress, Con’t.

Absolute Immunity protects government officials from any legal action unless they engage in discretion that is intentionally and maliciously wrong

Qualified Immunity is limited to those in the executive branch or when workers perform administrative functions

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Private Probation As state and local governments look to trim

costs in their budgets, they have increasingly turned to private companies for a wide array of services from drug testing to electronic monitoring.

Private, nonprofit entities have been involved in community supervision of offenders for quite a long time - since the 1800s.

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Private Probation, Con’t. At least 18 states currently use the private sector for some

form of supervision, 10 of whom rely on private agencies for the sole responsibility of supervising misdemeanor and low-risk clients.

Regulating the private sector has generally been slow, with some jurisdictions operating in the grey area of unclear or non-existent standards for awarding contracts to private providers, staff hiring requirements, and curriculums for outpatient treatment services.

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Criticisms of Probation Privatization

Critics of privatization say that the need to provide effective correctional services seems to be at odds with the prerequisite of making a profit for the business.

Private sector probation is seen as intruding and competing with the government’s traditional and ultimate responsibility to carry out punishment in a fair manner (Bosco 1998).

The private sector is usually not equipped to be a full-service organization and only take low-risk offenders. Private-sector services have no uniform method of monitoring probation conditions or ensuring that victim restitution is collected. LO: 3

Interstate Compact Prior to 1937, a probationer or parolee could not

be supervised outside the state where he or she was convicted.

Known as the Interstate Compact, an agreement was originally signed by 25 states in 1937 permitting states to provide courtesy supervision for each other.

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Interstate Compact, Con’t. The compacts identify the sending state (the state of

conviction) and the receiving state (the state that undertakes the supervision).

The sending state retains ultimate authority to modify the conditions of probation, revoke probation, or terminate probation.

The offender must meet certain residence requirements of the receiving state.

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