What are probation and parole?

Probation and parole are very similar. They are both forms of supervision by the state or federal government, with standard and special conditions assigned to every defendant. A probation or parole officer is usually the same person who supervises both types of cases. There may be special types of probation and parole, which are handled by specially trained officers of those categories, such as for sex offenders and drug offenders.



Probation is a sentence handed by the court, in which the offender is supervised by the state or federal government (either the state's Department of probation, Department of Corrections, or other similar agency, or the US probation department). If the offender violates any of the conditions of probation he can be arrested and returned to the court for hearing on such violation. The judge can then sentence the probationer to more probation, modify conditions of probation, community control (also known as house arrest), or incarceration. Probation can either follow incarceration or be given instead of incarceration (in the case of the former this is known as a split sentence).

In states that have parole system (the federal government doesn't) parole may be granted to an inmate. Because parole is granted by the parole board of the Department of Corrections of that state, the offender is still considered inmate, and can be returned directly to prison without any jurisdiction of the courts if he violates the terms of his parole. The parole can range from a couple of years to the rest of what would be the offender's term of incarceration.