Our goal is to assist the youth and adults under our supervision to become law abiding and responsible members of the community. In order to achieve this objective, we seek to concentrate our resources on those criminogenic factors that lead to delinquency and crime. We assist probationers to obtain counseling, mental health and drug treatment as well as educational and vocational services. If probationers fail to take advantage of the opportunity a sentence of probation affords them, a violation of probation may be filed and the sentence of probation revoked by the court.

Probation Officers also prepare predispositional reports for the Family Court and presentence reports for criminal courts. These reports contain background legal and social information as well as a recommendation for disposition and assist judges in determining an appropriate sentence. The Office of Probation and Community Corrections typically prepares over 2,000 such reports each year.

The agency has a commitment to victims of crime and strives to ensure that they have access, information and a voice in the criminal justice system. A Senior Probation Officer and victims advocate from Family Services work as a team to assist crime victims.  An advocate from Grace Smith House is available to assist victims of domestic violence and probation officers routinely collect over $200,000 in restitution annually.

Over the years, the Office of Probation and Community Corrections has developed many innovative programs to deal with crime and delinquency; some of these programs have become state and national models. The Domestic Abuse Response Team, commonly referred to as DART, has been replicated in other counties and states due to its emphasis on victim safety, offender accountability and inter-agency collaboration.

The agency staff are committed to providing the highest level of service to the community and to working in collaboration with both the public and private sector. The agency holds permanent membership on both the Children’s Services Council and the Criminal Justice Council.