Anytime an offender on probation fails to comply with the rules and conditions of probation, his sentence could be revoked. When this occurs, the Court issues a warrant for the offender for "Violation of Probation." The offender is arrested and must appear in court to face the violations of his sentence. At that time, the Judge may impose additional conditions on the offender or simply revoke his sentence, thus sending the offender to prison, or County jail.
The Probation and Parole Officer monitors the offender's compliance while on probation. When minor offenses occur, such as failing to report one month or being fired from their job, the officer may elect to impose intermediate sanctions on the offender instead of requesting revocation. When an offender repeatedly violates the rules and conditions of his sentence, or when a serious law violation occurs, the officer submits a Violation Report to the Court, outlining what violations occurred, requesting a warrant and making a recommendation of what the final judgement should be.
Probation and Parole Officers may also arrest offenders as needed. There are basically two senerios where this occurs: One, a warrant has been issued for the offender and the officer "serves the warrant" (makes the arrest). The Second is a probable cause arrest, in which the officer witnesses a crime or has evidence of a felony while making contact with the offender (such as finding a gun or drugs during a home visit). This senario is becoming more and more frequent in our Duties. Officer's face daily dangers of making contact with Offender's at their homes and finding Drug labs(methamphetamine) or other illegal activities. Rural Oklahoma Officers find themselves "on their own" without near support from other Probation Officers or local law enforcement. This places them in many "risky" and dangerous situations. Thankfully, we are certified Peace Officer's with the ability to carry weapons and have body armor for protection
Our newest Administration seems to have changed directions, in a positive way. They have relinquished on the attempts to limit our Peace Officer Authority and appear "somewhat" more interested in the Safety of the Officers. Policy changes in the "Scope of Employment" now allow third party arrest of persons not in "our charge" if we witness a felony or Misdemeanor . Further, we may now carry our weapons in the Office (although concealed). At least this is a step in the right direction. Some Trust in Officers has been restored but much needs to be done to ensure Officer safety and "Public Safety". Training and Officer Trust must continue to be encouraged...My Officers have demonstrated a 98% success rate every month for the last 12 months. This is very good and demonstrates their willingness to "serve the Public" and to do "all they can to create a climate of success.
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