Differences between a Parole Officer and Probation Officer

There are many differences between parole and probation officer. Many of us are mistaken that a probation officer can also be called as a parole officer. The job done by these two officers is alike. It is important to note that many people who are on parole might not actually be on probation.

Not all criminals go to prison. Some of them are sentenced and convicted to probation and deal with the probation officers. The criminals who are sentenced to prison time receive a parole if they behave well in the jail or they are granted an early release. Such offenders then work with the parole officers.

Basically, the probation officers are exclusively assigned to adult or juvenile offenders. They work with the non violent offenders who may be repeat offenders or high risk offenders. Parole officers have to work with various kinds of offenders. Both the parole and probation officers partner with community organizations and work with the courts. The function of both the officers is to keep a track of criminals and offenders.

The probation officers assist the offenders with anger management, substance abuse, driving skills, etc. they work their best to stop the offenders from committing and repeating crimes. Parole officers assist the offenders with the similar issues in addition to assisting them to enter the society again and maintain a healthy relationship with people living around them.

A person on a parole is bounded by different conditions. For instance, committing any crime on parole breaks the terms and may result in revisit to jail. Also failure to meet a parole officer regularly or leaving the town without specific notice and application is also taken as parole violation. A parole officer deals with the criminals serving their sentence time in jail. Sometimes a person who is convicted of a petty crime may be sentenced for one or many years of probation. An individual on probation may have to have fortnightly or monthly meetings with the probation officer. Probation officer deals with criminals who are forbidden from serving the sentence time.

Both the officers work with the local and state government. Some of them work at the federal level whereas some are employed by the federal courts. There are times when these officers work for more than 100 active cases at one time. They make use of fax, phones and other electronic equipments to handle the cases and communicate from home. To become eligible for either of the posts you need to possess a criminal justice degree. Having some work experience and military background is a further advantage.

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