1. Probation
Supervision
Chapter 5

2. The Dual Functions of Probation
 Investigation
 Presentence Investigation (PSI)
 Summary of offenders background
 Probation supervision policies & practices:
 Establish relationship, define roles
 Establish supervision goals
 Termination

3. The Dual Functions of Probation
 Investigation
 Work with teachers, officials, psychologists, judge
to provide information to assist the judge in a
proper sentence for the offender
 Supervision
 Series of tasks loosely connected to possible
rehabilitation
 Rewards of this work are inconsistent and
intangible

4. Discussion Question
Do you believe that probation officers have too
much power when it comes to their role in
investigative authority, especially the
presentence investigation report?

5. The Investigative Function
 PSI—most important role in the sentencing
process
 Purpose
 Sentencing
 Rehabilitation
 Risk management
 Plea bargaining

6. The Investigative Function
 PSI
 Contents
 Objectivity
 Reliable
 Victim impact statement

7. The Investigative Function
 PSI
 Recommendations
 Controversial
 Not all have sentencing recommendations
 Agreement with actual sentence
 Plea-bargaining

8. The Investigative Function
 PSI
 Disclosure
 In many states defendants do not receive a copy
 Williams v. New York (1949)
 Cleansing
 Confidential comments from private citizen
 Clinical statements or evaluations that might be
damaging

9. The Investigative Function
 PSI
 Private PSIs
 Client-specific planning
 Advocate for the defendant
 Controversial
 Unfair advantage for middle/upper class
 Liability for accuracy and relevance of information they
provide the court

10. Discussion Question
Imagine you are a judge who has the responsibility of sentencing
an offender who has just pled guilty to a burglary and
possession of cocaine. The sentence has to be determined.
The defense attorney is asking for probation with a condition
of residential drug treatment. The prosecutor is demanding
that the offender serve five years in prison. The probation
officer who has completed the presentence investigation
report is also recommending prison time, but wants 3 years
instead of 5. What would you look for specifically in the PSI to
make your determination of the sentence? What other
factors would you consider in your sentencing decision?

11. The Supervisory Function
 The Officer—enforce the law and help the
offender
 Conflict—power and authority
 Motivational interviewing
 Behavior change
 Identify tools for handling resistance
 Keep officer from doing all the work
 Responsibility of behavior change on the officer

12. The Supervisory Function
 The Offender
 Response—depends on his/her perception of
the officer’s power
 Commonly resent their status

13. The Supervisory Function
 The Bureaucracy
 Formal constraints—legal conditions of probation
 Standard conditions—imposed on all
probationers
 Punitive conditions—fines, community service,
form of restitution
 Treatment conditions—alcohol/substance help

14. The Effectiveness of Supervision
 Recidivism
 Case Management Systems
 Statistical risk assessment
 Systematic needs assessment
 Contact supervision standards
 Case planning
 Workload accounting

15. The Effectiveness of Supervision
 Evidence-Based Supervision
 Focus program on high-risk probationers
 Greater levels of supervision to higher-risk clients
 Treatment programs designed around higher-risk
clients
 Make referrals to treatment programs

16. The Effectiveness of Supervision
 Specialized Supervision Programs
 Sex offenders
 Drug offenders
 Mentally ill offenders
 Techniques for drug surveillance and treatment
 Urinalysis
 Antabuse
 Methadone

17. The Effectiveness of Supervision
 Performance-Based Supervision
 Focus on results in setting priorities and
selecting activities
 Public safety
 Broken windows
probation

18. The Effectiveness of Supervision
 Is Probation Effective Regardless?
 Comparison of probation strategies reveal little
differences
 What if methods matter little but probation
works?
 Recent study
 Reduction in criminality following probation
sentence

19. Discussion Question
Do you think drug abuse is a medical problem or
a criminal justice problem?
How we should deal with the issue of drugs at
the:
a) local level
b) state level
c) federal level?

20. Revocation and Termination
of Probation
 Probation Status Ends in One of Two Ways
 Successful completion of period of probation
 Revocation because of misbehavior
 Technical violation

21. Revocation and Termination
of Probation
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22. Revocation and Termination
of Probation
 Three Stages of Revocation
 Preliminary hearing—facts of arrest are
reviewed for probable cause
 Hearing—facts of allegation heard and decided
 Sentencing—incarceration or reinstatement of
probation

23. Probation in the Coming Decade
 Dramatic changes
 Decreased caseloads allowing for pilot
programs
 Public safety need is greater based on more
convicted felons
 Changing demographics in U.S. leads to officers
needing cultural literacy

24. Probation in the Coming Decade
 Dramatic changes
 Monitoring tools for probation officers
increase:
 Ankle bracelet, GPS
 Alcohol consumption monitors
 Mobile automated fingerprinting systems
 Videoconferencing