Thread: Probation and Police

Just wanted to get an idea of what some Police officers felt about probation. I know that some think its awaste of time and money while others work with us and think we do a great job and feel its a benefit if we work together. But i would love to get some opinions from the cops on the board. So dont hold back and be honest. Thanx

-Probie1

My opinion is that probation and probation officers can be a great tool for the criminal justice system, and can actually work pretty well at preventing recidivism. My experience, however, has been that probation officers are only as effective as the system they work in...in Texas, most were pretty good about responding to requests for information or assistance, and many were very proactive. In WA, on the other hand, the "community corrections officers" are so handicapped by the state and the courts that they are all but useless...in WA, probation is ineffective and definitely a waste of money. CA and NY (at least downstate) seem to have a very good approach to probation enforcement, although I have not worked firsthand with PO's in either state. Both CA and NY seem to have a more integrated system, where the PO's work with local law enforcement, which is what helps make the system far more effective...in WA, probation rarely interacted with local police, and the system is a mess. Federal probation seems to be decent, although the courts do not allow the PO's to effect arrests, even though I believe the law allows them to do so.

The major problem with probation is the lack of funding...one of the lower profile elements of CJ, and the public just doesn't care all that much. Too high of a caseload in most instances to allow for effective supervision. And, probation is one of those elements of the CJ system that doesn't get any good media coverage for what it does right, only bad press for what goes wrong. Rarely does anyone blame the police for a murder, but if the suspect is on probabtion, guess what? It's the fault of the probation department for not supervising the offender closely enough. An unfortunate catch-22, but that's the way the public and media view things.

nsedet,
I agree with your post whole heartedly. I am a PO in Texas and your are dead on about us not getting the proper funding. In the academy we were told that we are the "Bastard Children" of the CJ system and they were right. We just recently got some good TV coverage due the the fact that we had a couple of big warrant round ups with the local police and sheriff's department. It was a great experience and all agencies got along great and backed each other up. I have never had any problems with other LE agencies and the local police treat us with respect as well. They love to go on home visits with us as backup, because we don't need a search warrant to enter and search a probationers house.

So in conclusion, I think we have a good repore with other local, state and federal agencies. At least here in Texas.

Probie1,

I use to be a probation officer in PA, but now am a police
officer. I can say that in my area probation is a very effective
process that is useful in tracking offenders and ensuring that
these offenders comply with their court and probation officer
ordered conditions through various methods such as random
field contacts, drug testing, random searches to ensure
compliance with conditions, and other effective strategies.

On the flip side as a police officer I can say with certainty
that working in tandem with probation officers on the street is an
invaluable tool in identifying who is at risk for possible recidivism.
In knowing your community and being pro-active in dealing with
possible issues it can in my humble opinion deter crime to an
extent. Having good working relationships with various agencies
can only enhance the service that we provide to our respective
communities.

roc 24

Thanks for your thoughts guys. As a Probation Officer in Suffolk County,New York I work with the local PD quite a bit, mostly a unit that was formed to work with outside agencies like Probation,Parole,State Liquer Authority etc.
I have noticed that the cops who know the what we do really appreciate us but the ones who dont know seem to dislike us. I was just wondering what the relationship between Probation or Parole and the Police departments were like outside of NY. Thanks again
-Probie1

The relationship between probation and the police department is so far so good. They don't really know to much about what we can or can't do, so when we ride with them, they are full of questions for us. Thats good because the more they know, the more we can help each other. By the way I speaking about Texas. We work alot more with the local sheriff's department and have a great working relationship with them. Hope this helps.

Probie-
How's my buddy from college doing?