Probation Observation

I used to hang out with a group of so called friends; who were on probation constantly, and most of the crime my friends committed was theft, drugs and drinking alcohol. They would steal the expensive smoking pipe from the tattoo place without care if anyone is watching them. Being around with them, I started to develop the habit of stealing. I had caught once by the police, and they gave me a warning, since the item that I stole weren’t valuable and weren’t expensive. After my friends arresting, they went through the probation process where the officer interviewed them about the crime, school attendance, and living situation, and other topics. They also interviewed the officer who arrested them, the victim, and the parents of the child. My

friends had to go to court to pay a fine. And had to complete fifty hours of community service and one year probation followed by drug screening randomly.

The Court can place a young person on supervision for up to two years. I also learned the process they went through while being on probation. They have to follow the conditions of probation imposed by the court and the Probation Officer, which limit their rights. The probation officer has right to access through their phone and can see what’s going. If they don’t follow the conditions of probation during the probation period, the Probation Officer may file a Violation of Probation (VOP). Before filing a violation the Probation Officer will be stricter about dealing with the issue, they will return juvenile to the

court. The judge may make the probation time to be served longer and send you to juvenile center for a couple months.

From what I had heard, it’s not the good place at all. The officers put you in an empty room and make you sit in that room for hours to think about your action. The food they served was sometimes dried and rotten; my friend never eaten or touched the food they provided. I had seen the probation officer showed up at my school a couple of times and asked my friend about their grades, their school attendance and their daily basis. If he or she follows all of the conditions of probation, shows improvement in his or her performance both in school and at home, and does not get re-arrested, the judge may consider a request for an early release from probation. Since my friends never followed the conditions, they were always sent back to the juvenile center, even on holidays and the school year. It puts a lot of pressure on their probation officers because they don’t know how to deal with the defendant who keeps repeating the crime. The defendant definitely lost the trust of the probation officer. When one of my friends wanted to travel out of the state, she had to have permission from her probation officer and the probation

department. It was hard for her to convince her probation officer as the probation officer didn’t believe she would stay on a good track. This goes same for moving to another state, you need permission from the court and your probation officer, there are some requirements you must meet before you will be allowed to move from the state.