NCJ Number
139606
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1990) Pages: 7-10
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
A survey of 49 States and the District of Columbia focused on parole officers' qualifications and responsibilities.
Abstract
Nearly half of those systems reported a shift in parole officer roles toward more enforcement and less counseling as a result of the growing parolee population. Several States noted that increasing intensive supervision and specialized caseloads required more time on the part of parole officers. The survey found that there were 12,650 officers in the responding 50 jurisdictions, some of whom supervised both probation and parole. The average caseload was 30 inmates per officer; starting salaries averaged over $21,100. Twenty-nine systems required a bachelor's degree, while 16 required a bachelor's or equivalent experience. Several of the systems employed specialist officers for sex offenders, drug/alcohol abusers, gang members, adolescent offenders, and mentally retarded parolees. A State-by-State chart is appended to this article.