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Criminal procedure
Investigating and charging crimes
Criminal investigation
Arrest warrant  · Search warrant
Probable cause  · Knock and announce
Exigent circumstance
Search and seizure  · Arrest
Right to silence  · Miranda warning (U.S.)
Grand jury
Criminal prosecution
Statute of limitations  · Nolle prosequi
Bill of attainder  · Ex post facto law
Criminal jurisdiction  · Extradition
Habeas corpus  · Bail
Inquisitorial system  · Adversarial system
Charges and pleas
Arraignment  · Indictment
Plea  · Peremptory plea
Nolo contendere (U.S.)  · Plea bargain
Presentence Investigation
Related areas of law
Criminal defenses
Criminal law  · Evidence
Civil procedure
Portals: Law  · Criminal justice

Probation Officer's badge from the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Probation officers and parole officers function as agents or officers of the courts. Parole officers generally function as agents or officers of the Parole Board or the Department of Corrections. Probation officers serve under the court system as the enforcing arm of the court's sentence of someone who has been placed on probation. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ... Image File history File links Scale_of_justice. ... Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated the criminal law. ... An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a public officer which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual. ... A search warrant is a written warrant issued by judge or magistrate which authorizes the police to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a criminal offense, and seize the evidence. ... In United States criminal law, probable cause refers to the standard by which a police officer may make an arrest, conduct a personal or property search or obtain a warrant. ... Knock-and-announce, in United States law of criminal procedure, is an ancient common-law principle which requires law enforcement officers to announce their presence and provide residents with an opportunity to open the door to the residence when conducting a search. ... An exigent circumstance, in the American law of criminal procedure, allows law enforcement to enter a structure without a warrant, or if a they have a knock and announce warrant, without knocking and waiting for refusal under certain circumstances. ... Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in many common law whereby police or other authorities and their agents, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a persons property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime. ... The Chicago Police Department arrests a man An arrest is the action of the police, or person acting under the law, to take a person into custody so that they may be forthcoming to answer for the commission of a crime. ... The right to silence is a legal protection enjoyed by people undergoing police interrogation or trial in certain countries. ... The Miranda warning is a police warning that is given to criminal suspects in police custody in the United States before they are asked questions relating to the commission of crimes. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... A grand jury is a type of jury, in the common law legal system, which determines if there is enough evidence for a trial. ... Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated the criminal law. ... A statute of limitations is a statute in a common law legal system that sets forth the maximum period of time, after certain events, that legal proceedings based on those events may be initiated. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A bill of attainder (also known as an act or writ of attainder) is an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime, and punishing them, without benefit of a trial. ... An ex post facto law (from the Latin for from something done afterward) or retroactive law, is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of acts committed or the legal status of facts and relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law. ... Criminal jurisdiction is a term used in the law of criminal procedure to describe the power of a court to hear a case brought by the state accusing a criminal defendant of a violation of the law of the geographic area in which the court is located. ... Extradition is the official process by which one nation or state requests and obtains from another nation or state the surrender of a suspected or convicted criminal. ... In common law countries, habeas corpus (/heɪbiÉ™s kɔɹpÉ™s/), Latin for you [should] have the body, is the name of a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. ... The word bail as a legal term means: Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that persons appearance for trial. ... An inquisitorial system is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in determining the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is solely that of an impartial referee between parties. ... The adversarial system (or adversary system) of law is the system of law, generally adopted in common law countries, that relies on the skill of the different advocates representing their partys positions and not on some neutral party, usually the judge, trying to ascertain the truth of the case. ... Arraignment is a common law term for the formal reading of a criminal complaint, in the presence of the defendant, to inform him of the charges against him. ... In the common law legal system, an indictment (IPA: ) is a formal charge of having committed a most serious criminal offense. ... In legal terminology, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. ... In the common law legal system, the peremptory pleas (pleas in bar), are pleas that set out special reasons for which a trial cannot go ahead. ... In criminal trials in some common law jurisdictions, a plea of nolo contendere means that the defendant neither admits nor disputes the charge, and is an alternative to pleading guilty or not guilty. ... A plea bargain (also plea agreement, plea deal or copping a plea) is an agreement in a criminal case in which a prosecutor and a defendant arrange to settle the case against the defendant. ... A presentence investigation report (PSI) is a legal term referring to the investigation into the history of person convicted of a crime before sentencing to determine if there are extenuating circumstances which should ameliorate the sentence or a history of criminal behavior to increase the harshness of the sentence. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ... Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process that courts will follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a civil action, as opposed to a criminal action). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixel Image in higher resolution (3008 × 2000 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixel Image in higher resolution (3008 × 2000 pixel, file size: 2. ... The First Judicial District is the judicial body governing the county of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

Probation and Parole in the United States

In the United States, there can be probation officers on the city, county, state or Federal level - wherever there is a court of competent jurisdiction. Probation Officers, depending on the jurisdiction, may or may not also be Parole Officers. Since the abolishment of parole in the Federal System in 1984, United States federal courts there are no essentially no Parole Officers on the Federal Level of the United States. However, there is a small and decreasing number of parolees still being supervised, that were sentenced before 1984, and U.S. Probation Officers serve as parole officers in that capacity. The United States federal courts are the system of courts organized under the Constitution and laws of the federal government of the United States. ...

Generally, Parole Officers investigate and supervise defendants who have not yet been sentenced to a term of incarceration. Transversely, Parole Officers supervise offenders released from incarceration after a review and consideration of a Warden, Parole Board or other parole authority. Parolees are essentially serving the remainder of their incarceration sentence in the community due to the excellent adjustment and behavior while an inmate. However, some jurisdictions are modifying or abolishing the practice of parole and giving post-release supervision obligations to a community corrections agent, generically referred to as a Probation Officer. Typically, probation and parole officers do not wear a uniform, but simply dress in business or casual attire. Probation officers are usually issued a badge/credentials and, in many cases, may carry firearms for self protection or serving arrest warrants. Parole Officers, in many jusrisdictions, are issued a badge and firearm and have arresting authority, up to, and including full police powers. Probation Agencies have a loosely based paramilitary command structure and are usually headed by a Chief Probation Officer or Director. The chain-of-command usually flows to Deputy Chief or Assistant Director, then to Supervisor or Senior Probation Officer, then to the line probation officer. Some Parole and Probation Officers supervise general caseloads with offenders who are convicted of a variety of offenses. Others hold specialist positions, and work with specific groups of offenders such as Sex Offenders, offenders sentenced to electronic monitoring (house arrest), cases with severe mental health, substance abuse, and violent histories. ... NY NJ Port Authority Police Department Badge. ... A firearm is a kinetic energy weapon that fires either a single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant. ... An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a public officer which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual. ... A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... In justice and law, house arrest is the situation where a person is confined (by the authorities) to his or her residence. ... Mental states redirects here. ... Substance abuse refers to the overindulgence in and dependence on a psychoactive leading to effects that are detrimental to the individuals physical health or mental health, or the welfare of others. ...

A probation officer can perform any function assigned to him or her by the court. Either providing counseling and supervision to the criminal offender, working as the enforcement arm of the courts, or as the independent investigator that looks into the complete personal and criminal history of the criminally adjudicated defendant before sentencing. Parole officer and probation officer positions require that officers possess excellent oral and written communication skills and a broad knowledge of the criminal justice system and the roles, relationships, and responsibilities distributed among the courts, the parole authority the Bureau of Prisons or Department of Corrections and the prosecutor. Officers must have a college degree, thorough understanding of the legal requirements of probation and parole, and applicable case law. Additionally, they must have an ability to work with an extremely diverse population and wide variety of government agencies and community organizations. Officers who perform either presentence investigations or case supervision exclusively must have familiarity with the techniques and capabilities of the complementary discipline. Probation/Parole officers with law enforcment powers must attend a police academy as part of their training and certification. This article refers to interpersonal or mental health counseling. ... The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a subdivision of the United States Department of Justice, and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. ... The Department of Corrections is a U.S. department responsible for the nations prison and reform system. ...

Pre-sentence Investigation

Main article: Presentence Investigation A presentence investigation report (PSI) is a legal term referring to the investigation into the history of person convicted of a crime before sentencing to determine if there are extenuating circumstances which should ameliorate the sentence or a history of criminal behavior to increase the harshness of the sentence. ...

Probation Officers who prepare presentence reports must be especially skilled in gathering, organizing, and analyzing information. In the report and accompanying sentencing recommendation, the probation officer must assess the probability of risk to the community in the form of future criminal behavior, the harm the offense caused and the need for restitution, any profit the defendant received from the crime, and the defendant's ability to pay sanctions such as a fine, restitution or cost. The officer must identify the defendant's need for treatment to correct characteristics, conditions, or behavioral patterns that limit motivation or ability to obey the law and must assess the availability and suitability of rehabilitative programs. The preparation of presentence reports is critical not only to the individual offender and those directly affected by the offense, but to the systematic administration of criminal justice. Restitution is the name given to a form of legal relief in which the plaintiff recovers something from the defendant that belongs, or should belong, to the plaintiff. ...

In the Federal System, after the offender's sentencing by the Court, the probation officer must ensure that copies of the pre-sentence report and other requested documents are forwarded to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Sentencing Commission. In the U.S, pursant to the Privacy Act of 1974, a copy of the Presentence Report must be provided to each offender, or their counsel, before sentencing. After sentencing, the presentence writer must provide the offender with a written explaination of his or her conditions of supervision. If possible, the probation officer must also interview the offender after sentencing and instruct the defendant about the conditions of supervision that the court imposed. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a subdivision of the United States Department of Justice, and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Probation and Parole Officers in England and Wales

The National Probation Service is charged with supervising offenders and compiling relevant data regarding offender supervision. The duties of probation officers mirror the duties of their American counterparts with some notable exceptions. Probation officers make regular recommendations to Judges regarding an offender's progress and potential to contribute to the community after release. Additionally, probation officers will supervise a Restorative Justice plan that provides the victim of a crime an opportunity to address the impact of the crime to the offenders. The National Probation Service of England and Wales is a statutory Criminal Justice Service, mainly responsible for the supervision of offenders in the community. ... Restorative justice is a theory of criminal justice that focuses on crime as an act against another individual or community rather than the state. ...

Probation and Parole Officers in Australia

Parole Officers in Australia serve an active role in recommending parole to Judges (who, in Australia, determine if Parole should be granted). Probation Officers are expected to not only supervise an offender while he performs community service, but to also develope the community service plans themselves.