How To Contact a Probation Officer

People on parole aren't free to do what they want, they have to fulfill certain requirements and check in with their parole officer on a regular basis.If you want to report a possible violation or just need to know the status of someone on parole, you should contact their officer.If you're not in a position to ask the person directly who their officer is, you can usually find this information and contact the right officer yourself, although you will have to do a little research first.

Step 1: Inform the person about their condition.

You need to know at least the person's full legal name and birth date to find a parole officer.If the person works for you, you may have access to this information.You can check their personnel file.You may only have access to a nickname in certain situations.If the person has active social media accounts, you may be able to find additional information.

Step 2: Check to see if the person has been sent back to prison.

The person may already have returned to prison if they were previously in trouble.VINELink is a free online victim notification network that provides information about offenders' case status and location.There are databases of all inmates who have been in a state.You can check that database to see if the person is listed.The person you want to find will only show up if they have been sent back to jail, so keep that in mind.

Step 3: Find out where the person lives.

The person's parole officer is usually located in the same city or county where they live.It can be easy to find an address for an Offender.If you are the offenders' employer, you should be able to find their address by looking at their personnel records.Depending on the type of crime they committed, there are some tricks you can use to find someone's address.If the sex offenders were required to register with the database, you could look for a current address.

Step 4: Determine if the person committed a state crime.

The state and federal courts have different systems.It can be difficult to find out if you already know this information.Some crimes are against state and federal law.If the person was convicted of a relatively minor crime such as stealing, they are likely to have a state parole officer.Criminal records databases can be used to find out if the person committed a state or federal crime.Many states charge a small fee to access this information.If you can't determine if the person committed a state or federal crime, you're able to call the offending office and try to locate their parole officer.

Step 5: It's a good idea to locate the closest office to the residence.

You should start with the one closest to the area where the offenders live if there is more than one office.If the person committed a federal crime, you can use the U.S. Courts' Court Locator.Select "probation and pre trial services" from the drop-down menu, then enter the appropriate city, state, or zip code.Larger cities may have more than one office that is located by county.

Step 6: The office has a website.

You can find the phone number you need to call on the website of the office.The local offices may have directories of their own.The American Probation and Parole Association has a directory of offices in every state available at www.appa-net.org.

Step 7: During business hours, call the general number.

If you want to talk to an actual officer, you'll need to call on a weekday.If you want to meet with the officer in person, you'll need to reach out to them by phone.

Step 8: If you want to speak to the officer, ask.

The operator who answers the phone should be able to connect you to the parole officer if you give them your full legal name and other information.If you haven't been able to find much identifying information, you should still give as much information as you can.If you only know the person by a nickname and don't know their full legal name, simply state you're looking for someone who goes by that nickname.It's probably familiar to the staff at the office.In smaller offices where there aren't as many people to keep track of, you may be able to use a physical description.If you don't have much to go on, they can help identify the person and their officer if they have any distinctive characteristics.

Step 9: Tell us the information you have.

Explain the reason you contacted the officer.You may have to call several times or leave a message before you get the chance to speak to the officer because they are very busy.If you have to leave a message, make it clear and succinct, and give a summary of the information you need.The officer can get back to you if you leave a name and phone number.