As a probation officer, what are your hours?

Question

Do probation officers have to work evenings and weekends in most jurisdictions? Are the shifts 12 hours, 10 hours or 8 hours? Is the schedule set, or do all the officers rotate weekends/evenings, etc?

Answer 1

Our office is open from 8:30 to 4:30 daily, and closed from 12 to 1 for lunch. Some of us go in earlier, and some stay later, if needed to get things done or if we need to be out of the office on personal business. We sometimes stay later or come back into the office after regular hours in order to do home visits. In addition, all the officers in our office rotate being on call. For one week every three months, I have to carry the pager, and might get called out at any time if a juvenile has been arrested. If they are a threat to public safety or to themselves, have committed a serious offense, or if the parents refuse to come get the juvenile, I have to go into the police station and arrange for the juvenile to be detained. When I was on call last time, I was at the police station on Friday night, and again on Saturday morning to detain juveniles. I then went to my office to contact all interested parties to tell them about the detention hearings.

We have surveillence officers who work evening hours since they have to monitor those on electronic monitoring or house arrest.

Officers in larger cities might work any shift since they do the intakes for people arrested around the clock.

Answer 2

Some officers spend a day in the field checking up on probationers, unannounced.

Officers spend time in court for violation of probation hearings and other hearings as necessary.

Many of them work from 8 AM to 6 PM - with a 1 hour lunch break. Many of them are present a couple of times a month for check-ins with their clients. In MD, one probation officer can be responsible for over 200 clients - some are seen twice a month, others are seen once a quarter, etc.

Answer 3

In here it is 8:30 - 5:00 pm, following the state's holidays, and schedule. NICE benefits they get too!

They recess for 1 hr, always when the court does.