Probation and Parole

Mark Ortega
CRJ 215
CTA #1
September 3, 2012

Difference Between a Police Officer and Probation & Parole

A police officer is an individual who plays the role of maintaining in keeping order and peace in the public. Police officers are used for emergency services such emergency calls, disasters, public safety for large gatherings, road and traffic services and collisions as well. The police are also responsible for reprimanding offenders by issuing citations to those violators acting in a crime, from a traffic violation to robbery and break ins. Police officers are the individuals who victims call under times of distress when something happens to them. A police officer is usually the first on sight when disasters occur or when a crime is committed. Police Officers have certain powers over the general public, which are the power to arrest an individual if the individual has committed a crime or an offense. They have the power to use deadly force when they feel they are in danger or if they feel the public is in danger. The goal of a police officer is to secure the safety of the public keeping the roads safe, drugs off the street and communities and reduce the act of crime and also stop crime before it happens or after it has happened. Police officers make sure that the roads, community and their city is safe and always watched. Police officers are there to reduce the fear of the community and to put criminals behind bars. A probation officer is different from a police officer; the definition of the actual meaning of probation in the court system is a court-imposed sanction that releases a convicted offender into the community under a conditional suspended sentence. This practice assumes that most offenders are not dangerous and will respond well to treatment. In fact, the average Probationer is a first time and or non-violent offender who, it is believed, will be best served by remaining in the community while serving out their sentence. A Probation officer is there to watch over the probationer until he or she’s sentence is completed. The probation officer is there to make sure they are not getting involved in any types of drugs or crimes while under probation. Most of the time the reason there is even a choice of probation is because the prison may be to full to house the criminal. Probation officers have the power during the individual’s time of probation to have non-scheduled contacts or visits weekly with their probationer. They have the power to have the probationer give them drug test at unannounced and random times, have them make sure they are doing good in their work and or school if the probationer is employed or enrolled during their time of sentence. Parole is different from probation because parole is after the criminal has served a certain amount of their sentence inside a prison or jail, which actually is about 85% of their time behind bars the criminal, is now able to be paroled. The actual definition of parole is the conditional early release from prison or jail, under supervision, after a portion of the sentence has been served. This practice assumes that the offender successfully demonstrated conformity to the rules and regulations of the prison environment and shows an ability to conform to society's norms and laws. The goal of a parole officer is what they call a back door program, which gives the criminal a feeling of hope and positivism for a brighter future out of prison, to be able to adapt to the norms of society and regular day-to-day life other than day-to-day prison life. Just like a probation officer a parole officer can have the parolee take random drug test, and make unannounced visits to the individuals residences making sure they are not getting involved in any types of drugs and crimes and staying on the right track and helping them stay out rather going back into incarceration. Both Police offices and Probation and Parole are a part of the criminal justice system but both play different roles in a way you can say, police officers are there to enforce and put criminals behind bars and probation and parole are there to counsel and help keep criminals for getting incarcerated or going back to incarceration. But do not think probation and parole will hesitate to put them in or back into incarceration if the individual fail to communicate and follow the rules they have been given by the courts and fail to show they are capable of living with society to their probation and parole officers.