Probation and Parole - What is the Difference?

Many people get Parole and Probation confused. Unless you work in Law Enforcement, or have been convicted of a crime, you may not know the difference. Both deal with rehabilitating offenders outside of prison, but there is a huge difference in the two.

Probation is part of sentencing handed down by the judge. It might be the only sentence or it might be in conjunction with jail or prison time. If someone is on probation, they are supervised by the probation officer. There are different levels of supervision in probation. Some probationers are actually considered unsupervised, as they only have to keep their officer informed of their current address, phone number and employer.

Once a month they send in their probation fees by mail. Direct contact with the officer is not required. Some probationers are on intensive supervision and must report to their officer weekly or even daily. Then there are those that fall between to two extremes. The level of supervision is determined by the crime, criminal history, time they have been on probation, and their willingness to abide by rules and regulations.

If someone violates their probation, their officer can request they go back before a judge and get some or all of their probation revoked. This decision is solely made by the local court system. They could have all of their probation revoked or the judge can just request they get a portion revoked.

Parole is a conditional release of an inmate after serving time in prison. A judge does not and cannot order parole. Parole is granted by a group of members that make up the Parole Board. The Board reviews each case and taking into consideration the crime, age of the offender, family support, work history and opportunities, previous criminal behavior, and mental and physical condition, vote on whether or not to grant parole.

If they vote that an offender is eligible, than they decide a tentative parole month. This date can change if the offender displays behavioral problems in prison. It can also be affected by letters of protest from the District Attorney's office and/or victims of the crime. There are certain offenders that are not eligible for parole. The parole guidelines vary from state to state so check with your state's Parole Board for more information on parole eligibility.

Once an offender is released on parole, they must report to their parole officer for supervision. Parole officer's usually have fewer subjects on their caseload than probation officers, but they have a different level of supervision. There is no such thing as unsupervised parole. Many parolees are released on house arrest and must wear an ankle monitor during their transition from inmate to citizen.

Most are released with some type of special conditions. Electronic monitoring is one of the special conditions an inmate might be ordered but there are others that have to do with drug screens, substance abuse classes, GED requirements, mental health counseling, anger management, HIV requirements, sex offender requirements, and even people they are not allowed to associate with or come near. These conditions are decided upon by the Board and are based on the individual inmate's situation.

If a parolee violates his parole, his officer can arrest him for short term incarceration. If they officer feels his violation warrants the subject being sent back to prison, a Board Hearing is scheduled. A member of the Parole Board will listen to the case and decide if the parolee will have their parole revoked, or may be given another chance with conditions.

Look at this sentence to see how it works. If a judge sentences someone to 10 years, do 7, the judge is ordering him to 7 years in prison and 3 years on probation following his prison sentence. The judge has no say so regarding parole. The 7-year prison sentence, however, can be served all in prison or partly on parole, depending on the vote of the Parole Board. The time the subject is out on parole is his actual prison sentence and he must abide by the conditions of his parole.

If a judge orders a subject to probation only with no prison time than the subject will not be on parole, unless he violates his probation and is sent to prison to serve the balance of his probation. In that situation, the parole consideration process will automatically begin.

In some states, both parole and probation fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections. In other states, parole is a separate agency from the Department of Corrections. In Georgia, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Department of Corrections are separate.