Criminal Justice - Essay Example

Criminal Justice. Probation/parole officers 2006 Outline: A) Probation and parole. The difference. B) The work of probation/parole officers. The ideas behind probation and parole. C) The tasks of the probation/parole officer. D) The work load of the probation/parole officer E) The qualification requirements to probation/parole officers. F) The duties of the probation/parole officers summerized. Probation and parole are types of community supervision which have many things in common but are different in the aspect of jurisdiction and offenders’ supervision. In case of probation the jurisdiction belongs to the sentencing court while in case of parole to the Board of Probation and Parole (Board). The offenders are supervised by both probation and parole officers. Probation officers supervise the offender before the trial making sure that he/she follows the rules of the release or after being sentenced by the court on probation. Sometomes they perform the duties of pretrial services officers supervising offenders before trial. Parole officers deal with offenders released from the prison on the decision of the Board of Probation and Parole (Board). Both types of officers make sure that a released offender obeys conditions of the release. They give advice or instructions to the offender on parole or probation. There are also correctional treatment specialists who devise rehabilitation plans for offenders released from prison. Very often parole and probation officers’ duties are performed by one person. The main task of probation/parole officer is the development of a "Supervision plan" and its implementation by both supervised and a supervisor. The work of probation/parole officers includes communication with offenders and their families. They contact not only in official situation of the office but in home or job setting. Probation/parole officers are helped by different organization like religious or public to set the offender ‘on the righteous way’. The task of the probation/parole officer is to supervise the offender so that he/she successfully completes probation/parole period. So they offer interventions to positively change the life of the supervised person and prevent problems that interfere with social rehabilitation of the offender. Probation/parole officers help the offender to find a job, get job training or therapy if needed. The probation/parole officers work to return these people to normal life in the society. The supervision plan helps to identify barriers of supervision and the ways to overcome these. The probation/parole officer also looks after the offender to meet special conditions imposed by the court or Parole Board. The job of the probation/parole officer is not limited to work with offenders only. They perform much tasks for courts like giving characteristics of the accused, recommend sentence consulting with the offender and their families before submitting, etc. Sometimes they are required to testify in the court or visit hearing to keep the court informed of the offender’s progress in rehabilitation or his behavior. The work of the probation officer involves also reviewing numerous documents from court dockets and investigative reports to medical, employment and scholastic records. Based on the scrupulous investigation of different records and interviewing results, probation officer produces very accurate report which the court uses in the sentence verdict. So probation officer participates in the pre-sentence investigation. He gathers facts and tries to distinguish between true and deceitful information making conclusion bases on the thourough investigation. Preparing pre-sentence reports requires profound analytical skills to organize gathered information and make corresponding conclusions. The pre-sentence report helps to identify the risk of the offender to the community if released, profits obtained by the accused from the crime, and his/her ability to cover the costs for social damage in the form of fine or reinstitution. The report also contains the information about offender treatment needs and availability of rehabilitation programs. The report is used not only by the court in the decision of the sentence but in case of incarceration the report helps to choose a proper correctional institution and correctional program. Further it may be used for determining the release date. The probation officer coopearates closely with state law enforcement agencies concerning the offenders criminal history. The officer investiagates prior criminal behavior of the defendant to present characteristics of the defendant to the court. Thus the officer checks local police and court records to gain necessary information about the defendant. The work load of the probation/parole officer varies from 20 to more than 100 active cases at a time depending on their nature. The more ‘serious’ or dangerous the offender is, the more efforts the officer has for counseling. The working week consists of 40-hours. However, probation/parole officers should be ready 24 hours a day to supervise offenders. The officers devote most of their time on the offenders who are most likely to fail the probation period. That’s why officers concentrate on risk factors and offer interventions to avoid failure. The job of the probation/parole officer is rather risky and it requires them to be fit to carry the burdens of the emotional and physical strain. The probation/parole officers must meet specific fitness standards. The training is a part of their daily routine. Physical fitness standards are checked by two programs Program A (a 1.5 mile run, push-ups, and stomach crunches) and Program B (a 3-mile walk). Besides they have firearms training, defensive driving training and arrest scenario training. Arrest scenario training concerns the strategy of arrests, risk factors involved in arrests, teamwork and confidence development. Additional training includes in-service training in prisoner transport, and firearms training simulator, etc. The qualification requirements to the probation/parole officers vary but usually a bachelor’s or degree master’s degree in social work or criminal justice, psychology as well as experience of work is needed. Besides probation/parole officers should have good oral and written communication skills to be able to work with diverse population.(Wikipedia) Probation officers interview a great number of people involved in the case – defendant and his/her family, the prosecutor, law enforcement agents, doctors, etc. This requires the knowledge of questioning techniques and profound communication skills. The knowledge of the criminal justice system includes understanding of probation and parole legal requirements, sentencing guidelines, and applicable case law. Before the job admission applicants pass psychological and physical examinations. The duties of the probation-parole officer can be summarized as follows: supervision of the offenders, the help to integrate into the society; development of supervision plan and its implementation; interaction with the offender and his family; reporting offender’s progress in rehabilitation; testifying in the court, recommending sentence; Warrant and process services; conduct investigations concerning violations of supervision conditions; responding to violations. The work of the probation/parole officers is risky and requires great physical and emotional efforts. But at the same time it’s a rewarding job as these people are like doctors who return a person to life. References Wikipedia. Probation officer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probation_officer retr. 30 Aug. 2006 U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. August 4, 2006 http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos265.htm retr. 30 Aug. 2006 Read More