Skills needed for probation officer:

Probation officers tend to supervise offenders who have come from the prison to the community they need to report to the probation officers every one or twice in a month.

To get a proper control over the offenders they need to have good education along with some personal characteristics and skills for the fulfillment in their career.

The essential skills that are important for probation officer are as follows:

• Law – abiding skills: This is a very important trait as probation officers represent the courts and they motivate offenders and others to abide by law.

• They must set themselves as examples so abiding by law and justice is a very important skill for them otherwise they will be disqualified from employment.

• Integrity: Probation officers must be true to their words and act with unity.

• As they deal with legal matters daily their supervisors and courts must be able to depend on a high standard of ethical behavior.

• They should be in such a way that the suggestions given by them should be followed by justice and courts.

• Flexible: They must be very flexible with their work at times as they may plan out their day but for some reasons like arrests or client emergencies they may have to change their plans and go according to the situation.

• Interpersonal skills: Having good interpersonal skills will not only fetch them in good positions in their career but will also help them in dealing with the offenders as they always work towards motivating them to abide by the law.

• They are expected to have good communications skills.

• As they deal with variety of individuals including the family members of the offenders, victims, treatment provider’s lawyers, police, etc…having excellent interpersonal and communication skills are very important for them.

• Writing skills: These skills are very important for them as they need to effectively communicate in writing to the court about the offenders and they also have to communicate pre-sentencing details and sentencing details of the offenders to the court regularly.

• Active listening skills: This is also an important trait as they need to actively listen to what the offender has to say and give full attention to his family and friends to make decisions accordingly.

Salary and remuneration for probation officers:

Depending on various factors like years of experience, geographical location the salary of probation officers differs according to rules and regulations of each state.

• The median average annual income of probation officer is between $28,017 and $60,425

• The starting salary of probation officer  who less than one year of experience is between $29,200 and $35,600 per annum

• Probation officer who have   more than one year of experience earned an average salary of $30,900 and $38,000 per annum.

• Probation officer with more than five years of experience up to nine years earned between $34,872 and $45,733 per annum.

• The income of probation officer who are with ten to nineteen years of experience earn between $43,570 and $55,800 per annum.

• Probation officer with more than twenty years of experience will get an average income of $50,800 and $68,809 per annum.

The type of employer they work also plays an important role in determining salaries as it mostly depends on the company size and the industry type

Salaries according to different employer

• Probation officer working for Juvenile probation earns the highest salary of between $28,744 and $52,049 per annum.

• Probation officers working for law enforcement earn an average income of $29,284 and $56,790 per annum.

• Probation officers working for government agencies earn an average income of $30,920 and $59,834 per annum.

• Probation officers working for government or public law offices earn an average income of $27,807 and $53,075 per annum.

• Probation officers working for social services earn an average income of $26,931 and $49,456 per annum.

Salaries according to different states in United States:

• Probation officers working in New York can earn an average income of $43,296 and $61,042 per annum.

• Probation officers working in Los Angeles, California can earn an average income of $24,588 and $85,400 per annum.

• Probation officers working in Texas can earn an average income of $40,132 and $59,598 per annum.

• Probation officers working in Arizona can earn an average income of $18,500 and $57,000 per annum.

• Probation officers working in Pennsylvania can earn an average income of $39,501 and $52,500 per annum.

• Probation officers working in Indiana can earn an average income of $34,400 and $41,697 per annum.

• Probation officers working in Ohio can earn an average income of $31,444 and $58,421 per annum.

What does a probation officer do?

Probation officers are mainly employed for monitoring criminal offenders who have been released for the jail or from the prison.

They are very important for criminal justice system as they investigate the backgrounds of criminal offenders and make pre-sentencing reports and also make sentencing recommendations according to their expertise.

Duties and responsibilities of probation officers:

• Their main responsibility is to monitor the offenders frequently and make sure that they abide by the terms and conditions of the probation.
• They are responsible for gathering required information about the offender’s background by talking to their families and friends and other people who can provide relevant information.
• They need to see that offenders attend counseling when they get a job and attend reconstructive meetings.
• They need to submit drug testing results of the offenders to the court and make payments on the indemnification.
• They are responsible for supervising previous inmates and report to the court regarding the success of the offender’s release.
• They need to immediately respond to the court if they find any violations in terms of conditions by their offenders.
• They need to give suggestions to the judges regarding the released offenders sentence and also continuation of their probation.
• They also have to help released offenders reintegrate into the society by means of a job or home and giving them advice on handling social situations.
• These officers are also responsible for providing previous inmates with the skills required to handle the situations outside the prison.
• Probation officers need to be in charge for applying for the services, signing a lease and completing any employment applications.
• They will also have to help offenders in finding the education classes like GED and other available options.
• They should also see to it that the offenders find access to health care that are affordable and accessible.
• These officers are also responsible for arranging services according to each individual’s needs and by the court orders based on mental health, medical or substance abuse treatment.
• Probation officers should see to it that previous offenders do not consume drugs or alcohol as a part of terms and conditions of the probation.
• They will provide assistance in making them attend rehabilitation programs on narcotics, etc.
• They are also responsible for advising offenders as they re-enter the civil society.

Certifications for probation officers:

Certifications and licenses differ from one state to another seeking to become probation officer.

The main and important thing the employer will look at the candidate is the bachelor’s degree in related discipline or a master’s degree for higher positions.

The following are the details of certifications.

• In some states Employers will look for the candidates who have credentials before obtaining employment or get the credentials after hiring in some months.

• In most of the state’s candidates have to complete a basic course and pass a series of written examinations to qualify for the positions.

• And some states have the rule of pursuing the certification after completing training and examinations only after completing nine months of their work.

Educational requirements of probation officers:

The probation officer’s main responsibility is to monitor the criminal offenders who are released on probation.

They need to frequently visit the houses of offenders as well as their work places to check their activities and living situations.

This career is definitely demanding and requires proper education.

• The basic qualification required for probation officers are a bachelor’s degree with specialization in criminal justice, counseling, psychology, social work, or any other related field.

• For higher opportunities like federal positions having master’s degree is a must with relevant degree.

• As this kind of job mainly deals with law, candidates are expected to have strong interviewing skills along with counseling skills.

• Employers before hiring these officers check for the previous experience in the related field.

• It would be an added advantage if they have prior experience in the related fields like social work, criminal investigations, or corrections that would give them edge in getting the good opportunity.

• They will be even picked up if they have experience in volunteering offenders or other at-risk groups.

• Along with other qualifications like degree in social work and criminal justice having computer knowledge is also must in these days for better opportunities.

• After getting hired they will be given an intense training before they tend to work alone.

• They are required to complete the state or federal government’s mandatory training programs which are a compulsory act for them.

• They are even provided on-the-job training for six months which will be given as trainee under the guidance of most experienced probation officer.

• The minimum requirement by most agencies is that candidate should be of at least twenty one years of age at the time of employment.

• They are expected to have strong physical and mental health.

Who is a Probation officer what is their job?

Probation officers are the professionals who watch, direct and help convicted criminals who have been placed on probation. They supervise the actions of individuals who are under their care. They are mainly employed to investigate the background of accused offenders.  They are also known as community supervision officers who write pre-sentencing reports and with their expertise make recommendations on sentencing. These probation officers tend to meet the probationer in their homes. Their main aim is to see that the law offenders who have been granted probation instead of additional jail time and they make sure that the offenders do not continue to pursue the criminal activity. These officers are usually found working in the United States state, county and district courts.

These probation officers mainly have knowledge in investigating techniques, interviewing procedures and counseling techniques. They need to organize with resource providers about the social service activities, they need to advice families with problems in the household and take the stand in court for cases and compile information and evidences for court actions. These officers need to have knowledge in judging the quality of things, searching for legal records and resolving conflicts and judging people or their services and be able to negotiate well with others. The final thing being that they work with dangerous criminals and also offenders who are upset and angry and very difficult to work with. They tend to have a heavy workload as they need to meet court imposed deadlines.