US Probation Officer

Summary

By statute, the Probation Officer serves in a judiciary law enforcement position and assists in the administration of justice. The incumbent promotes community safety, gathers information, supervises offenders/defendants, interacts with collateral agencies, prepares reports, conducts investigations, and presents recommendations to the court. The incumbent performs duties that involve general pretrial services or probation cases, under the guidance of a Supervisory Officer.

Duties

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The duties specified herein are intended to provide generalized examples of the major duties and responsibilities that are performed by a U.S. Probation Officer within any unit and do not reflect all duties performed by positions covered by this classification. Additional information regarding the fulfilling career opportunities as a U.S. Probation Officer is located at the following link: U.S. Probation & Pretrial Services Careers.

Position descriptions for U.S. Probation Officers are available on our website:
Iowa Northern Probation Career Opportunities.

Pretrial Investigations Unit:

• Conducts pretrial investigations by interviewing individuals and their families; compiling criminal history records; and verifying background information through collateral resources. Prepares a bond report that assesses risk of flight or risk of danger to the community pending resolution of the charged offense. Included within the bond report is a recommendation regarding detention or release of an individual who has been charged, as well as any conditions of release that may apply.

Presentence Investigative Unit:

• Conducts investigations and prepares reports by interviewing individuals and their families; reviewing and summarizing the investigative materials; compiling criminal history records; investigating the financial status of the individual charged; and verifying background information through collateral resources. An integral part of this process is the interpretation and application of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant case law. Provides testimony regarding guideline applications and serves as a resource to the court to facilitate proper imposition of sentences.

Pretrial and Post-Conviction Supervision Unit:

• Integrates evidence-based practices into daily activities and interactions with individuals under supervision. Supervises individuals to provoke positive lifestyle changes, to maximize compliance to court-imposed conditions, reduce risk to the community, and provide correctional treatment. Develops supervision plans, maintains case records, and maintains office and field contacts with individuals under supervision to ensure adherence to court-imposed conditions and required correctional treatment. Detects and investigates violations of supervision, reports violations to the Court, and makes recommendations regarding the response to the reported violations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a field of academic study that demonstrates the capacity to understand and apply legal requirements and human relations skills relevant the position.
• Valid driver's license.
• United States citizenship or eligibility to work in the United States.

Qualifications

CL 28 - Salary Range: $70,894 to $115,213

• Two years of specialized experience with a bachelor's degree.

CL 27 - Salary Range: $59,133 to $96,147

• Two years of specialized experience or a master's degree.

CL 25 - Salary Range: $48,890 to $79,443

• One year of specialized experience, superior academic achievement with a bachelor's degree, or one academic year of graduate work.

The salary range listed reflects the full pay scale spanning across all classification levels for this position. Starting salaries depend on education, skills, and experience.

If the incumbent commences employment at CL 25 or CL27, promotional opportunities are available without further competition based on experience and performance.

Specialized

Experience:

• Progressively responsible experience in fields such as probation, pretrial services, parole, corrections, criminal investigations, or work in substance/addiction treatment, public administration, human relations, social work, psychology, or mental health.
• Experience as a police officer, custodial officer, or security officer is considered, but it does not qualify as specialized experience in determining the classification level.

Maximum Entry Age:

• Officers are eligible for retirement after 20 years of service at the age of 50, or after 25 years of service at any age. Therefore, first-time appointees must not have reached their 37th birthday at the time of appointment.
• Applicants aged 37 or over who have previous federal law enforcement experience under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) may have previous law enforcement officer experience subtracted from their age to determine whether they meet the maximum age requirement.

Medical and Background…