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Arizona Law

This Legal Column is presented
by the State Bar of Arizona as a
public service by the lawyers of
Arizona. Every effort is made to
assure that it reflects an accurate
Interpretation of the Arizona law
as applicable to the stated facts.
We often hear or read Of a per-
son convicted of a crime being
released on probation. Our movies
and television plays contain char
acters either on probation or in
prison awaiting the day they might
be released on parole. But though
we are familiar with the term,
The details OF the probation pro-
Icedure are usually not very clear
| in our minds. - .,,''-s &,
Probation in Arizona is admin
istered by each individual county.
The probation departments exist
as adjuncts of the several county
branches of the Superior Court of
Arizona. Each county branch is
under the direction Of the judge
or judges of that county. Each
county probation office is respon-
sible only to its own county judges,
although its facilities are at the
disposal of the courts. It is not
accurate to say that Arizona has
| a probation system. Rather it
should be said that Arizona has
fourteen different probation sy-
stems or as many as there are
The Department provides two
major services to the courts. II
makes pre-sentence Investigations
of convicted offenders and submits
written reports to the courts; and
it supervises those offenders plac-
ed on probation. In the first func-
ton, although the guilt Of the Of
fender has already been establish
ed, the investigation and report
serve as a guide for subsequent
work with the offender, whether
he is placed on probation or com
Imitted to a penal institution. The
pre- sentence investigation is :
thorough probe of the offenders
life, including his criminal activi
Ity, his social influences, and his
general background from the time
lof birth to the time Of his convict
ion. The Department does not
make recommendations as to the
disposition of the case, unless spec
Iifically asked by the court to do so,
But it does try to evaluate the po-
Itential of the offender and to as.
sess his ability to use probation
constructively without undue risk
to society.
Supervision of offenders placed
on probation has two goals: pro-
lection of the community, and the
Improvement of the offenders at
titudeS and behavior. The duties
of the probation officer in this type
Of situation are many; they in
1olve checking the prObationer's
activities, solving minor day to-
lay problems, helping him find
employment and housing, reliev-
ng tensions in the home; in short,
he probation officer makes every
effort through service, to reduce
,nvironmental pressures to allev-
ate emotional and personality diff
ulties by counseling with the pro-
,ationer at regular intervals.
A probation officer must fulfill
many strict qualifications before
eceiving an appointment to the
Department. Most probation Of
icers in Arizona are college-ed-
lcated, and all are screened as
% integrity, mature judgement,
emotional maturity, and ability to
establish effective relationships
with other people.
(This legal column is issued as
public service under supervision
Of the State Bar of Arizona, and
lis written to infrom, not to advise.