ABSTRACT
Currently, there are more than 2,000 separate probation agencies in the United States that fall under the jurisdiction of the courts (Abadinsky, 2009), many of which employ a combination of both probation offi cers and surveillance offi cers. While probation and surveillance offi cers’ job functions tend to be multifaceted and are described in detail later in this chapter, the primary role of a probation offi cer is to ensure that court-mandated “conditions of probation” are followed and adhered to by convicted offenders, while surveillance offi cers’ primary job duty is to assist the probation offi cer in ensuring such conditions are met. In addition to probation departments at the federal, state, county, and municipal levels, there are also private companies and nonprofi t organizations providing probation services throughout the United States (Burrell, 2005). Indeed, with courts and allied criminal justice agencies growing at a rapid pace, and with the employment of probation offi cers expected to increase by 11% between 2006 and 2016 (U.S. Department of
Labor, 2008), practice opportunities are abundant for law enforcement psychologists seeking to expand their services into this adjunctive area of practice.
