Criminal Justice

Probation officers are important because they are the ones who help the criminals get the necessary treatments needed to stay out of jail. Probation officers supervise offenders on probation through personal contact with the offenders and their families. Probations officers spend much of their time in the courts where they will learn all the facts of the accused criminal to understand their background. Understanding the background of the accused allows them to see the reasons why the crime may have been committed. In the Case Study with Joan Casey she has to make the decisions that are best for the Collier County’s Probation Department. The Collier County’s Probation Department deals with many different types of criminals and sentencing them usually is done by Jack Brown. Jack Brown is the main person who is in charge of all the other probation officers. Any decision that is made and if it is the wrong one it will fall onto Jack Brown’s shoulders since he is the chief probation officer. The department has had previous problems in the past and any case that is dealt with must be looked over to ensure the decisions are the right ones.

Joan Casey begins her career as a probation officer. Then she quickly advances to a supervisory position, which consists of eight experienced probation officers. As a newcomer, to the unit, Casey faces several problems from the start. To begin with, the Collier County’s Probation Department exposure by the local newspaper twice in one month about lenient sanctions given to offenders. One headline describes a stalker receiving only probation and another insinuates the county as too soft on crime. As a result of these public announcements, the chief probation officer, Jack Brown, calls a team meeting to discuss the department’s alleged problems. Brown suggests to the team they should conduct better presentence investigation reports on offenders. It has been assumed offenders are receiving lenient sanctions because of inadequate