Define the job duties of probation and parole officers. Explain the two of the major challenges they face in their daily work

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Probation/parole work consists primarily of four functions:
1) Presentence investigations - Examine the offender's background to provide the sentencing judge with facts needed to make an informed sentencing decision.
2) Other intake procedures – Intake procedures may also involve a dispute-settlement process, during which the probation officer works with the defendant and the victim to resolve the com-plaint before sentencing. Intake duties tend to be more common for juvenile offenders than they are for adults, but all officers may eventually have to recommend to the judge the best sentencing alternative for a particular case.
3) Diagnosis and needs assessment – Diagnosis, the psychological inventorying of the probation or parole client, may be done either formally with written tests administered by certified psychol-ogists or through informal arrangements, which typically depend on the observational skills of the officer. Needs assessment extends beyond the psychological needs of the client to a cataloging of the services necessary for a successful experience on probation or parole.
4) Client supervision - Supervision of sentenced probationers or released parolees is the most ac-tive stage of the probation/parole process, involving months (and sometimes years) of periodic meetings between the officer and the client and an ongoing assessment of the success of the pro-bation/parole endeavor in each case.
Probation and parole officers face the need to balance two conflicting sets of duties—one of which is to provide quasi–social work services and the other of which is to handle custodial responsibilities.