Facts About State and Federal Probation

In the United States, each state maintains a probation department to supervise criminals who are released on probation. The state probation departments are responsible for supervising the reintegration of criminals who have been tried and convicted in a state court. Within the United States, similar crimes can be tried at a federal or state level.

This often depends upon the specific conditions of a crime, including who was involved, where it occurred, and the crime itself. Both a state prison and a federal prison can house violent offenders, or individuals responsible for theft, burglary, and other criminal activities. Individuals who are tried in federal courts can receive the same sentences as criminals who are tried in state courts. This includes probation. Therefore, it is necessary to have probation systems that address the supervised release of both state convicted criminals and federally convicted criminals.

Just as state probation departments are responsible for overseeing the probation state convicted offenders, the federal probation system is responsible for supervising the release of individuals who were tried and convicted in a federal court. Federal probation is very similar to state probation. An criminal who is released on federal probation must comply with the specified probation rules and avoid further criminal behavior.

Individuals who are employed as federal parole officers must monitor the behavior of their charges to ensure that they are not presenting any threat to society.Just as with state probation, violation of federal probation can have serious repercussions for a criminal.

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