Two Part Assignment

Part One:
View the below video on what its like to be a probation officer.
Discuss if you think you could be a probation or a parole officer, if not why not and if so why?
Further discuss if you believe probation is an effective release mechanism and the reasons for
your answer. 250+ words. Provide APA in text citation and reference.

Part two:
Read "You make the decision…should I revoke him.” After reading this section make a decision
regarding your probationer Smith and provide your overall recommendation. Additionally,
discuss why you made this decision and how it is in the best interest of our community.
You Make the Decision . . . Should I Revoke Him
One of the most difficult challenges for a probation officer (PO) is deciding whether to initiate a
revocation process for a probationer. To some, it may seem very clear-cut. If probationers violate
the conditions of their supervision, their probation should be revoked. Most probation agency
policies require that violations be brought to the attention of the court for action to either revoke
or modify probation conditions. Yet courts do not want to see every technical violation of a
probationer, and officers have considerable discretion in how to handle most minor in-fractions.
For instance, a probationer may be required to report several times per month to the officer and is
usually very re-sponsible in doing so. If the offender misses one appointment, agencies do not
want officers reporting it as a violation to the court. However, all criminal activities should be
reported. The officer must decide whether to initiate a revocation
process for several situations that fall between these two obvious extremes. It is easy for officers
to take a hard line and report almost any violation. They can never be criticized if the offender
later commits a serious crime. However, research findings indicate that recidivism is not reduced
by only surveil-lance techniques of probation, but by a combination of case-work and
surveillance and by the officer’s getting offenders to take responsibility for their crimes and the
behaviors that lead to criminal acts. The best officers use this discretion wisely and counsel
offenders or issue agreements to modify supervision conditions as intermediate actions. Many
probation agencies now give officers limited authority to add requirements to be better able to
hold the offender accountable, such as drug testing, additional reporting to the officer, or even (in
a few situations) residence in a halfway house or electronic monitoring. The following scenario
is for students to consider and then decide how to handle the case.
You are the PO for John Smith. Smith is a 32-year-old of-fender with a history of serious drug
use, three misdemeanor theft offenses, and one prior felony conviction for breaking and entering.
The current offense is auto theft and possession of cocaine. He received a sentence of two years

of probation with standard conditions and a requirement to participate in drug abuse counseling
and random drug testing. Smith did rather well the first eight months of supervision, but his
behavior then began to deteriorate. In month nine, he missed two of his four appointments with
you, with excuses that his car broke down and that there was a family emergency. He also lost
his job and has yet to find another. His sister called and told you that Smith was again using
drugs. You had him come in immediately for a random drug test, which proved negative. In
month ten, he missed two of his drug counseling sessions, claiming that he was not using drugs
and the sessions were a waste of time. He said he would rather spend his time trying to find a
job. In month eleven, he tested positive for cocaine use. You had not notified the court before
this time, but had counseled Smith repeatedly and told him that continued failure to meet the
conditions of his probation could result in revocation and a prison sentence. You believe that
Smith is not a dangerous person, as he does not have a violent history. You also believe that if he
could stay in the community and conquer his drug use, he could stay out of trouble. Yet he has
not been honest with you and seems to not respond to your more intensive counseling (and
threats). You now must report the violations to the court and recommend how to deal with Smith.
You can recommend continuation of probation with current conditions, added conditions as an
intermediate sanction, or revocation and implementation of Smith’s eighteen-month prison
sentence. What do you recommend, and why?